


Breakable Heaven

by amomentoflove



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Bottom Louis, Dark Harry, Falling In Love, Greek Mythology AU, Hades Harry, Hades/Persephone Myth AU, Kidnapping, M/M, Persephone Louis, Smut, Top Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:08:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 44,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27561262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amomentoflove/pseuds/amomentoflove
Summary: “What do you think?” Louis gets captured by Harry’s green eyes, unable to look away or even take a breath.“I think you’re the most magnificent creature I’ve ever met.”“You must not have met many creatures then.”Harry’s eyes glance downward to Louis’ lips and his tongue darts out to wet his own. “None like you.”
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 196
Kudos: 625
Collections: Bottom Louis Fic Fest 2020





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> You know when you're writing and sometimes you have things planned out or you have a general idea of where the fic is going to go, but then while you're writing your characters end up doing something totally different?? Yeah, that happened to me several times throughout this fic. But I love how this fic turned out and I hope you do too!
> 
> This my 20th fic!! Which is crazy that I've written 20 fics. That number baffles me.
> 
> I picked Prompt 18: AU where Louis is Persephone and Harry is Hades.
> 
> The title comes from Taylor Swift's song 'Cruel Summer'. I go absolutely feral over that song. Come at me for liking it, but I dare you to listen to the bridge of that song and NOT think about Persephone and Hades. 
> 
> As always, a humongous thank you to my wonderful beta, [Liz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/therogueskimo/pseuds/therogueskimo), for being there to encourage me and listen to my crazy ideas. Go check out her fics!
> 
> Lastly, thank you to the mods of the BLFF! I can't imagine how difficult it is to conglomerate hundreds of prompts and manage all the sign ups... it blows my mind. Make sure to read all the other amazing fics in the fest!
> 
> **As a friendly reminder, I do not allow ANYONE to repost my fics.**
> 
> Spanish translation by [SoftandSoff](https://www.wattpad.com/story/248542950-%F0%9D%95%AD%F0%9D%96%97%F0%9D%96%8A%F0%9D%96%86%F0%9D%96%90%F0%9D%96%8A%F0%9D%96%86%F0%9D%96%87%F0%9D%96%91%F0%9D%96%8A-%F0%9D%96%8D%F0%9D%96%8A%F0%9D%96%86%F0%9D%96%9B%F0%9D%96%8A%F0%9D%96%93-%E2%94%8A%F0%9D%95%BF%F0%9D%96%97%F0%9D%96%86%F0%9D%96%89%F0%9D%96%9A%F0%9D%96%88%F0%9D%96%88%F0%9D%96%8E%F0%9D%96%94%CC%81%F0%9D%96%93-%E2%94%8A).

The room is filled with people in a flurry of activity; some are dancing in the center of the room, some are outside in the grand courtyard, and others like Louis linger on the sides of the room. The band, a 10 piece group of strings— courtesy of Apollo— is playing in the corner, providing the music for the guests to dance. 

The ladies’ gowns are a mix of pastels and lace which is a sharp contrast to the dark suits the men wear. Everyone is wearing a mask from full to half masks. Louis’ own half mask is light pink and matches the embroidered flowers on the lapels of his black suit. It’s much more feminine than the other men in the room, but Louis doesn’t care.

“Louis, darling, let’s go greet Zeus,” Demeter, goddess of agriculture (and Louis’ mother) says, placing a firm hand on his back and guiding him across the room.

The goddess is dressed in a deep green gown with gold accents mimicking the look of wheat along the edges. The gown sways like the aforementioned grain in a soft breeze as she moves through the room. At the head of the room sit two large thrones for Zeus and Hera. The god and goddess look perturbed with each other, which Louis has found to be a regular look on both of their faces when they are in close proximity. For Hera to be the goddess of marriage, hers never seems to be going well at all. 

“Zeus, Hera,” Demeter greets and bows to them, Louis following suit. “You remember my son, Louis.”

“Ah, yes, the god of spring,” Zeus comments. “We’re getting to your busiest time of the year. I always look forward to the spring solstice when Olympus and Earth are once again bathed in glorious color.”

“That’s not the only reason you look forward to the spring season,” Hera says. “Isn’t that right, husband?” She glares at him, and Louis swears that he sees Zeus, the god of thunder and king of all the gods, shrink under his wife’s stare.

“It’s also the time for new beginnings and hope that better days are coming,” Louis points out, trying to smooth the everlasting tension between the two gods.

“Right you are,” Zeus says tightly, sending a glare towards his wife. “I understand that it’s your first Olympus party, Louis. I’m glad to see that your mother has let you out of her domain to attend.”

Demeter smiles tightly at the god of the sky and wraps an arm around Louis’ waist. Louis has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He’s just turned six centuries old, still young in the eyes of most of the gods and goddess here, but his mother has kept him under her wing for his entire life. He loves her, but he feels like there’s more out there for him if only she would loosen the reins a little bit.

It took almost a year of begging to let Louis come to the party tonight, but he should have known that Demeter wouldn’t let Louis out of her sight once they arrived.

“He’s still an apprentice. I see no harm in keeping him close during his apprenticeship,” Demeter defends.

"Mother and I are quite close,” Louis says and smiles over to Demeter. “But it’s nice to get out from time to time, especially for a gathering as grand as this.”

Hera nods to the pair. “I hope you enjoy yourself, Louis. We look forward to seeing you again soon.”

Demeter nods politely to the married couple and guides Louis away from them. “One thing you should know, dear, is to always stay on Zeus and Hera’s good side. They hold much more power over the other gods and goddesses as king and queen.”

“Yes, Mother, you’ve told me numerous times,” Louis sighs as they make their way along the side of the room. There are towers of flowers framing the room, and Louis runs his fingers over the petals absentmindedly. 

“Then you should know that you should also-”

“Make sure to stay away from Hades,” Louis sighs again, tired of the same old conversations and warnings. “I still don’t know why you have such a hatred towards one god.”

“Because he is Death and we—we are Life,” she breathes out, putting great emphasis on ‘Life’. “We create and he destroys. It doesn’t make sense to befriend someone like him.”

“Yes, Mother,” Louis obediently says, simply because he knows it will placate her. 

A loud crash from across the room startles Louis and he cranes his head across the crowd to see what the fuss is about. A man with his suit jacket wrinkled and red mask askew, frowns deeply as he shouts stern words to the gods and goddess around him. Whatever’s just happened, the red masked man isn’t pleased.

“Just what we need,” Demeter whispers to Louis. “Another fight.”

“Who is that, mother?”

Demeter waves her hand and tugs him away from the angry man. “No one you need to be concerned with.”

Louis absently wonders if the man is Hades with how quickly Demeter pulled his attention away.

In the dimness of the room, Louis’ eye catches sight of a man in a deep blue suit with a silver mask that covers the top half of his face. There’s outlines of a flower that frames the man’s eyes, and Louis is so curious to know what type of flower it is.

The man reminds Louis of the night sky with how the mask glints from across the room as he moves, and Louis briefly wonders if he’s related to Astraea, the goddess of stars.

He’s in deep conversation with a group close to the large windows that overlook the courtyard. He’s enchanting with his dark hair that’s curled over his mask. His smile is bright and alluring as he captures the attention of those around him. 

He holds a glass of brandy delicately in his hand and he gestures with it as he talks. His shoulders look broad under his suit jacket and the deep blue looks darker in the shadows.

The group laughs at one of his jokes and the man looks well pleased with himself at their reaction. As they laugh, the man glances around the room as if he’s taking inventory of those around him. His smile turns into a smirk when he catches Louis’ gaze. 

A jolt of heat rushes through Louis’ body at being caught staring. He looks away quickly and feels heat travel to his cheeks. He’s grateful for the mask as it covers the pinkness of his skin and he glances back over to the man.

His gaze is firmly on Louis as if Louis is much more interesting than the conversation of those around him.

It seems time has slowed down as their eyes connect. The music fades into the background and the flurry of people seemingly move in slow motion. Louis can’t tell what color the man’s eyes are, but he’s completely trapped by his gaze. 

It’s odd to have someone’s full attention on him. It’s something Louis isn’t used to, as he’s always by his mother’s side. He comes second to his mother and many only speak to him because he’s with his mother. It's not often that someone focuses on just Louis for longer than a moment. 

He’s tempted to go over to the group so he can find out for himself if the man is just as alluring up close as he is from across the way.

He doesn’t though, as his mother still has her arm around his waist. She’s talking to a group of her friends; Algaia, the goddess of grace and beauty; Paithea, the goddess of rest and relaxation; and Antheia, the goddess of flowers, vegetation, and human love. The three goddesses are Aphrodite’s attendants which means the goddess of love and beauty must not be too far away.

Louis tries to steer clear of the goddess of love, as she tends to point out Louis’ living situation often, and he feels very small after having a conversation with her.

“How are you liking your first Winter Solstice party, Louis?” Antheia asks, drawing Louis’ attention away from the man across the room. She's another goddess that Louis has a hard time interacting with since she is also a goddess of flowers—she tends to think herself of higher importance than Louis. It’s rather annoying.

“Oh,” he clears his throat and tries very hard not to look back over to the man, but he still feels his gaze. “It’s quite nice. I was just noticing the flower towers. Are those-”

“Snowdrops with roses, yes,” Antheia cuts him off. “I offered to create winter jasmine as I thought the room needed more color than white,” she says with a disgusted look on her face. “But I was outvoted.”

Demeter places a reassuring hand on the goddess’ arm. “I understand what you mean, Antheia. It’s too cold in here. Some color would do the room some good. Just wait until the Spring Solstice! The room will be such a rainbow of colors that even Iris would be impressed.”

“I don’t think the absence of color makes a room cold. There can still be warmth found in the silvers and the whites. Even the pinecones bring warmth into the room. Besides, too much color and it would be mistaken for Spring,” Louis boldly says. “While I love spring and all the colors that it brings, you also have to appreciate the winter too.”

Louis has to fight back the urge to shrink back as the Graces send him harsh looks; he might as well have personally insulted them for the intensity of their displeasure. Even Demeter has tightened her hold on his waist and he knows over overstepped. 

“Darling,” Demeter says gently but her tone is sharp. “Why don’t you get something to eat?” She brushes a hand over his shoulder and fixes his collar. “You’re not sounding like yourself.”

Louis nods quickly, grateful that he’s been given permission to leave this embarrassing situation. He knows as soon as he steps away, the four goddess are going to gossip about him, Demeter’s odd child. “Yes, Mother.”

He nods respectfully to the Graces and makes his leave. He walks along the edge of the group. He sighs as he reaches the refreshments table and quickly grabs a glass and a bundle of grapes. He doesn’t really care what he’s drinking, only that he’s free to roam around the room now. 

He nods politely to other gods and goddess as he makes his way over to the courtyard, wanting to escape the loudness of the large room. His shoes clack as he walks on the marbled courtyard. It’s chilly outside— obviously since it’s winter—and Louis is grateful for his suit. The night sky glitters with stars and constellations.

As they’re in Zeus’ palace, Louis is able to lean against the marbled railing and gaze out across Olympus. He pops a few grapes in his mouth and takes a sip of his drink, some sort of ambrosia cocktail. His face itches under the half mask and he’s tempted to take it off, as he’s technically no longer at the party. But it would ruin his hair, and he doesn’t need another thing for his mother to point out that he did wrong. 

“Would you like some company?” 

A voice startles him and he gazes over his shoulder to see who has joined him outside. 

He freezes when he sees the man in the dark blue suit from earlier standing by the door. Louis fixes his composure and nods, afraid to speak.

The man walks over to Louis’ side and he sighs as he also looks out over Olympus. “I see your mother has allowed you out of her sight for once. Are you enjoying your freedom?”

Louis grimaces and takes another sip of his cocktail. “It’s not all bad, living with her.” He bristles. He gets so tired of people always badgering on about how close he and his mother are. Yes, he realizes that it’s a little abnormal and Demeter is hard on him, but he loves her and knows her intentions are good. 

“You mean you’re not enjoying being able away from her, the Graces, and their never-ending gossip?” The man asks, turning his body to face Louis.

Louis lets out a low laugh and glances over to the large windows, trying to spy the women in question. They’ve moved to a table along the other side of the room and look to be in deep conversation. “I’m sure they’re talking about the difficulties being in the presence of so many higher gods and goddesses or the drabness of the decor.” He glances to his companion before going back to his mother. “Those are their most popular topics.”

“And what do you think of the decor?”

“Hmm?” Louis gives the man his full attention and freezes when he’s once again captured by the man’s gaze. His eyes are a deep green, Louis notices, not unlike an evergreen tree. “Oh, I uh … I think it’s lovely.” He swallows deeply under the gaze of the man. “I was telling Mother and the Graces that too much color would make the room seem too much like Spring. It takes away the gentleness of Winter.”

Louis feels a little silly after he’s said it. It sounded much more convincing earlier, but the words seem to lose their conviction in front of someone as enrapturing as the man in front of him. 

The man gives him a soft smile. “I agree with you, but winter can also be harsh. It has the capability to be one of the cruelest seasons. Most would call it cruel and associate it with death.”

“Every season has its downfalls, just like every person has their own. But there is also some goodness in each.”

“And what is some goodness in winter?”

Louis smiles and leans his back against the railing. “I often enjoy looking down at the humans and seeing how they enjoy the snowfall. I like how it falls down gently and blankets everything in this pristine whiteness. It’s like a blank slate, ready to be decorated with color.”

“But that whiteness kills off all plants,” he points out, but not harshly. “I would assume someone like you, whose specialty is plants and living things, wouldn’t like such a thing.” 

Louis smiles at him, enjoying the conversation. “The plants aren’t dead, they’re simply sleeping.”

“Sleeping?” The man asks unconvinced.

“Yes, sleeping. Winter gives the plants time to rest, so they’re able to come back in the spring and flourish. Winter is Spring’s break.”

“I’ve never thought of it like that,” the man says gently. 

“I’m glad to have enlightened you, then,” Louis replies just as softly. 

They hold gazes for a few more moments until Louis gets too overwhelmed and looks away.

“I should get back to my home,” the man says reluctantly.

“You’re leaving so soon?” Louis asks and tries not to sound too disappointed. He had been enjoying the man’s presence and their conversation. It felt like they were just getting started.

The man nods. “Parties like this are a rarity for me. I enjoy my solitude too much sometimes. However,” he reaches forward, gently grasps Louis’ hand, and bends down to press the softest of kisses to the top of it. “I have very much enjoyed your company this evening.”

Louis practically swoons and he feels his heart stutter in his chest at the action. He feels the imprint of the kiss on the back of his hand and it leaves him wanting more; more kisses in more places. “I have as well,” he manages to say with a shaky breath.

“Goodnight, Louis,” the man says and steps away and back into the party.

“Goodnight,” Louis whispers after the man has already left.

It wasn’t until he’s back home many hours later that he realizes he never learned the man’s name.


	2. Chapter 1

With Spring’s arrival coming quickly, Louis is busy working with his mother on the Spring Solstice; a party for the gods of Olympus not much unlike the winter party. It’s been a few weeks since then and all Louis can properly think about is the man in the silver mask. 

Their conversation wasn’t long and Louis never found out the man’s name, but he managed to completely ensnare Louis’ thoughts. 

And his mother has been noticing. 

Where Louis is usually more attentive to the planning of the arrival of Spring and the planning for the solstice, Louis is now attempting to replicate the flowers that were along the man’s silver mask. He doesn’t know what color they are, only their shape, and he’s failing spectacularly.

From what Louis can remember, they looked like a mix of lilies and petunias. Louis tries to create a flower, a combination of the two, but it never comes out looking correctly. With each failed attempt, he shakes the flower stem as if he could change it to the proper flower that way.

Talking to the man felt like a dream drawn up from the depths of Louis’ imagination, and it’s been difficult for him to focus on anything else than remembering every detail from their conversation. And he has so many questions. Namely about the man’s name. How did he know Louis’ own, and why didn’t he introduce himself? Was he a god or a spirit? He had to be _something_ , given he was at the Winter Solstice and how there was a crowd surrounding him at one point.

If only Louis could replicate the flower, he would have some sort of proof that the man was real. That he wasn’t a figment of Louis’ imagination brought on by boredom and loneliness at the party.

“Darling, are you feeling alright? You’re awfully quiet today.” Demeter brushes a hand across Louis’ forehead.

“Yes, I’m fine, Mother.” With a wave of his hand, he changes the failed flower attempt into a perfect pink petunia and adds it to the ever growing pile of pastel colored floras. “What’s next on the list?”

Louis peaks around the corner. It’s nighttime, the moon is high in the star covered sky. The only things he can hear is the river down the hill and the crickets. There’s a candle lit in one of the windows on the first floor—the rest of the building is dark. It’s well past bedtime for the human world, and Louis knows he has to be careful so he doesn’t get caught.

Louis has been sneaking off of Mt. Olympus for decades, and it shouldn’t be as easy as he’s found it. All he has to do is wait until his mother is fast asleep, which doesn’t take long after a day of talking to Louis about what he needs to learn, gossiping with the Three Graces, and handling the arrival of Spring in the human and godly worlds. He’s found a thin space between two birch trees out in the forest behind his and Demeter’s home that takes him straight to the human world. 

He just has to walk between the two trees and he’s gone. It scared him the first time he happened upon it, but now he loves escaping from Olympus, his duties, and his mother. 

He unlatches the gate to the garden and brushes his fingers over the ivy curling over the black iron. The gate creaks and he winces at the noise. He pauses his actions to make sure no one in the house heard it. He breathes a sigh of relief after a moment when he doesn’t see any movement coming from the home.

The marble courtyard glows a soft white under the moonlight as he makes his way across. His feet make soft tapping sounds as he does so, but he’s on the other side quickly. The purpose of his midnight adventure lies rooted in the ground just feet away from the steps. He’s been scrounging around to find the flower the man in the silver mask wore for months and he thinks he’s finally found them in the backyard of this mansion.

Its red petals are delicate and its black center is as dark as the night. Red poppies are rare. Most people despise them and think of them as an omen of death. A few cruel humans have figured out how to weaponize the flower to make a drug that causes the taker to go into a death-like sleep. Due to the drug, poppies have been destroyed as families didn’t want that type of flower amongst them. They don’t want a omen of death near their homes and what they hold dear.

As the god of spring, Louis is appalled by the humans actions and took the destruction of the flowers as a personal offense. He wonders if this is why Olympus doesn’t have them.

Louis reaches to his side and pulls out a glass vial already filled with dirt from his pocket. He usually has an entire collection of vials on his person, just in case he needs them, but he kept those in his home tonight. With a careful touch, Louis pulls off a few seeds from the center of the poppy and drops them into the vial. The seeds are so small that they don’t make a sound as they drop nor do they take up too much room. 

With a wave of his hand, he makes the seeds begin to sprout so that when he gets back home he only has to place them in soil.

He grins brightly, whispers a protection spell over the baby sprouts, and corks the vial. He stands up and twists around to leave, but his heart stutters in his chest when he sees a shadowed figure standing only a few feet from him. 

“Any reason why you’re lurking around my home so late, Louis?” A low voice asks, and the figure steps into the moonlight.

The man in the silver mask from the party is draped in an ornate robe with threads of gold, white, and silver, which causes him to almost glow. His dark brown hair curls over his head in a swooped mess. Without the mask on, Louis can see the man’s eyes dark green. His pink lips curl up in a smirk that makes Louis’ pulse race.

“Hi,” he says breathlessly and slips the vial in his pocket. “You live here?”

The man steps closer to Louis and looks up at the home as if he were seeing it for the first time. “It’s one of my many homes on Earth, but my current favorite.” As he looks back over to Louis, the moonlight hits his cheekbones at just the right angle to make them look deathly sharp, as if one touch would cut Louis.

Louis feels as if he could swoon under the man’s gaze. “You know, I never did get your name at the party.”

The man smiles and chuckles. “No, you didn’t, did you?” He stares at him for a moment before he reaches a hand out. “You can call me Harry.”

When Louis takes Harry’s hand in his own, Harry shifts his grip so he’s holding the tips of Louis’ fingers and brings Louis’ hand up to his lips where he lightly presses his lips to the top of Louis’ knuckles. “It’s a pleasure to properly meet you, Louis."

It takes everything in Louis not to drop the vial of poppy sprouts that’s still in his other hand. “Same to you, Harry,” Louis whispers.

Harry smiles and straightens back up but keeps Louis’ hand in his. When he glances down at Louis’ other hand, his smile widens. 

“Collecting poppy seeds?”

“Oh,” Louis looks down and tucks the vial in his pocket. “Yes, I- uh.” He cheeks reddens and he clears his throat. “I was trying to replicate the flowers that were on your mask you wore at the party. I hadn’t seen them before anywhere on Olympus.”

Feeling bold he looks up at Harry and adds, “I guess you could say they made an impression on me.”

Harry chuckles and lightly squeezes Louis’ hand. “I’m glad they did.”

They stand there for a few moments, staring at one another, not making a sound. It was nice, to put it simply. Louis is finding it increasingly pleasing to have Harry’s full attention. 

“Would you like to come inside?” Harry breaks the silence and gestures behind him.

Louis shakes his head sadly. “I better not, Mother doesn’t know I’ve left, and she wouldn’t be too kind to me if she were to wake and find that I’ve gone.”

Harry nods once and releases Louis’ hand.

Louis would be lying to himself if he didn’t already miss Harry’s touch. 

“Well,” Harry says as he starts to walk backwards to the double doors. “You are most certainly welcome here anytime you find yourself away from Olympus,” he says with a knowing smile. 

“Goodnight, Harry,” Louis says and reluctantly leaves. 

He’s past the garden gate when he hears Harry’s response, “And to you, Louis.”

Louis wakes up the next morning feeling refreshed. He turns over and smiles when he sees the poppy sprouts have started to bloom in the morning sunlight. He had planted the sprouts he collected from Harry’s garden the moment he had gotten back last night.

The pots sit on the windowsill where the sun shines brightly in the mornings. Most of the space in Louis’ bedroom houses different size pots—most are ones that need his attention more than the others that live in the large greenhouse. 

He’s out of bed and dressed in a blink of an eye. “How are we doing this morning, poppies?” He murmurs to the baby plants. They seem to be doing well considering they started out as seeds only a few hours ago. He needs to get them to a more private location because he knows Demeter will wonder where Louis got the seeds.

And that is not a conversation he wants to have. If she were to find out Louis’ left Mt. Olympus, he would be grounded for a few millenniums.

After watering the new plants, he stashes them in his bathroom where there’s still sunshine filtering in the windows above his bathtub. He grabs his gardening gloves and a ragged cloth he keeps to wipe sweat off before he heads down the stairs.

Demeter is flitting through the kitchen, tending to the pots of herbs that are in the windowsill while tree nymphs scurry around the room holding pots of the few centerpieces Demeter and Louis have already created.

“Morning, Mother,” Louis greets and has to quickly step out of the way to avoid clashing into more centerpieces. “Are those already going to Zeus’ ballroom?”

Demeter turns around, brushes the stray whips of hair away from her face, and smiles at her son. “Morning, darling. No, Zeus doesn’t want us to deliver anything until the day before. He’s still using the ballroom for now. I’m using a space in the back of the greenhouse to store them for now.”

Louis pulls out a slice of ambrosia along with some fruits and granola for his breakfast. “I still think we’ve made the arrangements too soon. The solstice is still a month away.”

Demeter shakes her head and sets a pot of daisies on the table. “I changed my mind on the look.”

Louis holds back from rolling his eyes. His mother changes her mind as quickly as the weather. In the beginning, she wanted the entire room to be only shades of pinks and Louis spent an entire week creating pink flowers in various hues.

Then Demeter wanted to have waterfalls cascading along one wall and the blues of the water would match the display of florals nearby. Louis had to stay home and watch all of the plants while Demeter traveled to Poseidon’s domain to ask if he could help with the waterfall. When Zeus said no, as a waterfall would clearly show favoritism for his brother, Demeter had to change her plans again.

As of yesterday, Demeter planned to have a rainbow of flowers along one wall with each pillar along the wall of doors leading out to the balcony wrapped completely in different flowers in each color. It was by far Louis’ favorite plan as it showed the variety of spring flowers and showcased the beauty in each.

Now, it seems Demeter doesn’t like it anymore. “What do you have in mind?” Louis asks as politely as he can. 

“Imagine the entire ballroom decorated to look like a rainforest. Green everywhere with hints of flowers! Antheia told me she could help with the decorations since vegetation is more aligned with her specialty.”

Louis looks down at his plate of berries and physically bites his tongue to keep him from giving a snarky remark about what Antheia could do with her time. 

But he doesn’t.

“I could get started on taking apart the centerpieces we’ve already made while you and Antheia get to work,” he offers. At least he could be in the back of the greenhouse and not have to hear Antheia and her annoying opinions.

“That’s a lovely idea, darling,” Demeter says distractingly as she continues to move pots around and occasionally handing some to passing nymphs. 

Louis hurries to eat his breakfast because he knows Antheia will be over soon. He wouldn’t be surprised if the creation of decorations turns into another day of gossip, or if Demeter changes her mind numerous times today while talking to Antheia.

“As long as she remembers that this is for the Spring Solstice, we won’t have a problem,” Louis mutters as he puts his dishes in the sink and heads out of the home towards the greenhouse. The greenhouse sits at the edge of the forest and the building is actually larger than the home. Why do they need a big home if they’re always in the greenhouse?

He still doesn’t understand why Demeter doesn’t trust him to take care of all the planning for the solstice. He’s the god of spring, for Zeus’ sake. This is his domain. This time of the year is his! He’s sat back and watched as Demeter planned everything year after year. He feels like he’s capable of taking on this responsibility. 

“Maybe next year,” he says. He pulls open the door to the greenhouse and sighs as the wet heat develops him when he steps in. He brushes his fingers over the rows of plants as he walks down the aisle to the back.

The back of the greenhouse houses empty pots, bags of dirt, broken watering cans, and all the tools he needs to take care of the plants. Taking over the entire half, though, are the centerpieces that are no longer being used. Louis has to carefully untangle the stems from their twisting shape and repot them. Not to mention any repairs he might have to do.

He takes a deep breath and gets to work.

A few hours later, Louis is tired and sweaty with only a half of the centerpieces taken apart. He’s had to be extremely gentle taking the flowers off of the piece, as he doesn’t want to hurt them. There’s been a handful that he’s had to mend and thankfully only a few that couldn’t be saved. 

He’s half hoping that Demeter will change her mind again back to this plan so Louis won’t have to take apart all of the centerpieces, but he’s not feeling too hopeful. 

He hopes a plan does get solidify too as the Spring Solstice is only a month away. There’s a lot that has to be done in that short amount of time if Demeter keeps changing her mind. He stops for a break as he's feeling particularly hot and sweaty. The tree nymphs left hours ago, and it’s only been himself and the plants in the greenhouse.

He doesn’t mind the solitude.

As he walks towards the house to grab a snack and some water—he might be a god but he still needs to hydrate—he hears the familiar laughter coming from his mother and Antheia. He takes a deep breath before entering.

“Oh, there you are, darling,” Demeter says and waves him over. “How are the centerpieces coming along?”

“I should be done by the end of the day.” Louis pours a glass of water from the metal pitcher and leans against the kitchen counter. “What kind of plans are you two coming up with?” He asks trying to seem interested. He honestly just wants to do his own thing and forget what they say—especially Antheia. 

“You know how we are, darling,” Demeter chuckles and gestures to goddess beside her. “Antheia’s been catching me up on all the human gossip."

The goddess giggles and twirls a glass of wine in front of her. “So much has happened in the human world, I just had to keep her updated! I haven’t even thought about the solstice.” She shrugs and takes a sip. “There’s plenty of time to get everything done.”

Louis tries to hold back his shocked expression when Demeter nods in agreement with her guest. He wants to scream. He’s been working for hours trying to fix the centerpieces for the party, not sitting and gossiping with his friend. 

Not that he really has anyone to talk to other than his mother.

His mind goes over to Harry and he pauses. He’s only had two small conversations with the man, but they’ve been heavy on his mind. Already, he wants to slip through the trees and find him again.

“Where are your sisters today, Antheia?”

“They’re helping Aphrodite with an assignment. Two humans being brought together through a trial with pirates. It’ll end tragically, Aphrodite tells us,” Antheia whispers as if the humans in question were in room.

“What are pirates?” Louis asks, looking between the two goddesses.

Demeter sends a daggered look to the goddess, but then smiles sweetly at her son. “Nothing for you to worry about, darling. Human nonsense.”

Louis bristles at the comment, but nods nonetheless. He hates it when his mother does this. She constantly keeps things from the human world from him as if he were as delicate at the flowers he creates. But there’s nothing he can do about it. “I’d best be back to the centerpieces.”

The two goddesses wave him off and are already back to their gossip before he’s out of the house. 

Louis sighs deeply as he enters the greenhouse once more. He takes his time walking to the back. He checks on several of the plants housed there and tends to the ones that need his attention. As he gets to the back, an idea pops in his head.

Demeter can ignore planning for the solstice all she wants— Louis can take care of it. And if he’s successful, maybe she’ll loosen the reins and give him more freedoms. That way, he won’t have to sneak off of Olympus.

Louis feels boned tired days later. He’s taken apart and reworked all of the centerpieces having stayed in the greenhouse for the rest of the week. Part of it was to avoid his mother and Antheia—he’s sure their conversation never strayed from human centered gossip in the times the goddess came to so-call ‘work’. As he makes his way across the backyard to the house, a bit of movement from the woods catches his attention.

It’s dark out with only a few lights on in the house to help Louis see. But he knows this area, he’s memorized the shapes of the trees and bushes surrounding his home and he can tell when something is off. 

There’s a figure out by the trees and when he steps closer the shape becomes more distinct. He relaxes when he sees a female deer and a fawn with white spots along its body hesitantly step out from the trees and towards the pecan tree Demeter has grown by the foundation of the home.

Louis smiles gently to the animals and stays still as they make their way over to the base of the pecan tree. The fawn is braver than its mother, who stands behind it and surveys the area for any potential enemies. Louis hopes that she doesn’t sense his presence—he doesn’t want to scare off something so adorable. Demeter will be please that the deer have found her plants. Why be the goddess of the harvest and agriculture if you don’t like creatures to benefit from it?

Louis stays there for only a few minutes, watching as the doe and fawn nibble on the tops of the plates before they return to the trees. He smiles at their retreating figures and makes his way inside.

Demeter in the kitchen again, stirring something delicious smelling on the stove. 

“I just saw a doe and fawn over by the pecans, Mother,” Louis enthuses. 

Demeter grins over the pot and keeps stirring, adding in herbs ever so often. “I knew they’d take to the pecans if I kept it growing through winter. Can you find the paprika, darling? I can’t seem to find it in the cabinet.” 

Although pecan trees usually produce nuts in the fall, Demeter loves to use them in many recipes and keeps the pecan tree in their backyard producing most of the year. Louis walks over to the pantry and searches for the glass bottle of red seasoning. He finds it quickly and hands it over. “Do I have time to wash up?”

“Ten minutes and don’t forget to water the fern by the stairs,” Demeter instructs. “It was looking a little dry last I saw it.”

Louis does so and also adds more water to the poppy plants in his room when he gets there. The poppies were doing well with a few weeks’ growth. Soon he’ll have to re-pot them and move them to the greenhouse where it will be warmer and better climate.

As much as he loves working in the greenhouse, Louis doesn’t want his room to feel the same. He showers quickly and throws on a white nightgown with lace along the sleeves.

Demeter is spooning out a stew into two bowls when he gets downstairs.

“Hades is at it again,” she says as they sit at the table for their meal.

“What now?”

“He’s drowned a human ship with an entire crew onboard. All sent into the water. Poseidon tried to save them as the ocean is his domain, but Hades had his way. He’s no better than Ares.”

Demeter can’t stand Hades and Ares, but Hades most of all as war is inevitable. Louis wants to point out that death is inevitable to humans and even plants. Instead he asks, “Why hasn’t Zeus talked to him about it? He’s his brother, right?”

“Oh, darling.” Demeter pats his hand and Louis feels like he’s five years old again as she’s using the tone that makes him feel as if she’s smarter than him. “The last time Zeus talked to Hades, he banished him from Olympus. Hades can only come during important meetings, otherwise he’s in the Underworld. Where I think he should stay, anyway. That’s his domain, why should he be on Olympus?”

Lous frowns as he remembers something. “But you said he was at the Winter Solstice.”

Demeter waves her hand in dismissal. “Zeus must have been feeling sentimental that night to allow Hades to attend. He will not be attending our party, however.”

Louis fidgets in his seat, feeling nervous to approach the topic of the party. He’s worked hard on the centerpieces and has plans for the rest of the decorations, but he doesn’t know how his mother will react. “Speaking of the solstice, I had some thoughts about the decorations.” 

“What’s on your mind, darling?”

“While I was working on the centerpieces, I was thinking of another plan and … what if we highlight a rare flower?”

Demeter looks at him curiously and takes a sip of her drink.

Louis continues. “I know you wanted a focal wall, and since we can’t do a waterfall, we could cover the entire wall with this one flower and then have a whole bouquet with the flower and smaller ones. That way there’s a bit of a variety in the display, but it would still showcase the flower.”

Demeter considers his proposal for a moment. “What flower were you thinking?”

Louis hesitates because he knows his mother is going to ask how he knows about it, especially since he’s never seen them on Olympus and had to go to the human world to find the seeds.

“Poppies,” he suggests boldly.

Demeter chokes on her drink and sputters for a moment. “Poppies?” She shakes her head and Louis has a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “No, darling.” She sets her drink down and collects herself. “They won’t be a good flower to focus on. You can grow flowers just fine, but I’m better at designing. I know what looks good.”

Louis doesn’t feel hungry anymore and pushes his plate forward. “Do you have another plan in mind? I’m getting worried that we’ll be too rushed if we keep waiting.”

“Don’t worry, Louis,” Demeter says and reaches forward to take her son’s hand in hers. “Tomorrow is a new day. We’ll get to work then.”

Louis nods and doesn’t respond. He feels too frustrated to say anything. How could his mother shoot down his idea so quickly? She didn’t even look to see what he’s already created. He pushes the food around his bowl and takes one measly bite before he gets up. “I’m going to go read in my room. Get an early night so we can get started early for tomorrow.”

Unperturbed by Louis' sudden appetite change, Demeter waves him off and returns to her own dinner. “Sounds good, darling.”

Louis kisses her cheek as he passes and sighs as he heads upstairs. He feels much more at ease as soon as he steps into his room. It’s not fully dark outside, so his room is softly lit by the setting sun. His potted plants along his window bring color into the room and contrast against the creamed colored bedspread. 

He lights some candles around his room to make it even cozier. He goes over to the small bookcase along his wall and picks up one of his favorite books. He lies down on his bed and stares at his ceiling, leaving the book unopened. 

He doesn’t know what to do. He has so much respect for his mother and all that she does, but he also feels slightly frustrated. In years past, he’s followed his mother’s directions and kept his ideas to himself. But this year, he had high hopes that he had proven to his mother that he could take on more responsibilities.

All Louis wants is to be taken seriously. He reads for a while and before he knows it, it’s dark outside with sparks of stars shining down. The house is silent meaning Demeter is in her own room downstairs.

Louis marks his place in the book and sets it to the side. He gets up, smoothes out his nightgown and goes to the window. Along the tree line, he spies the hidden pathway he uses to go to the mortal, and he makes an easy decision.

He walks up to a familiar iron gate and steps inside the back garden. He’s changed out of his nightgown and into something more suitable for walking outside in the cool, almost spring, air. As Louis steps closer to the house, he spies a few lighted candles in the window of the library, but doesn’t see any movement.

He hesitates before he lightly taps on the window. After a few minutes, when no one comes to the door, he sighs and turns around to head back home, feeling dejected.

His heart almost jumps out of his chest when Harry suddenly appears steps behind him. “Oh!” He exclaims and puts a hand to his chest.

“Louis, I’m sorry for surprising you,” Harry says. He’s dressed in simple black trousers and a white shirt that bellows out from his chest. “I wasn’t expecting any visitors tonight.”

“No, apologies are all mine. I felt like getting out of the house and wanted to come here.”

Harry steps up beside Louis and opens the doors to the library. “You’re always welcome here, Louis. Would you like to come inside?”

Louis glances in the room and feels nervous for some reason. “Would you mind if we walked in the garden?” He asks hesitantly.

Harry smiles and nods in agreement. “Of course, you must enjoy being outside more than in, being the god of spring. We can walk around the property.”

“Oh yes,” Louis says and follows Harry down the steps and towards the greenery. “It feels freeing being outside, especially as spring gets closer. It feels as if the Earth is beginning to wake from its longer slumber.”

“You and your mother must be busy preparing for the solstice,” Harry says and Louis almost detects a bite to his tone.

“We are, but I’d rather not talk about that.”

Harry nods politely. “Trouble with your mother?”

Louis sighs deeply and extends his hand so he can feel the roughness of the bark of the trees to his right. “That’s putting it simply.”

Harry hums and peaks at Louis from the corner of his eye. “It bothers you to be upset with your mother.”

“It does, I’m not used to feeling this way. But enough about me,” Louis quickly diverts the conversation. He doesn’t want to talk about his mother and the problems with the solstice planning. “I would like to learn more about you, if you don’t mind.”

Harry studies him for a moment. “I’m not much unlike you. I enjoy my solitude and being in nature.”

“But you seemed so at ease with those people from the party,” Louis points out.

“Ah.” Harry ducks his head. “I believe you saw me in one of my more outgoing times. I don’t mind being in groups, but I do get bored of the same conversations party after party.”

“I wouldn’t know. The Winter Solstice was my first one.”

“And how did you enjoy it?”

Louis purses his lips and stares up at the moon overhead. “I didn’t mind it while you were there.”

Harry chuckles lowly, and the sound sends a zip of thrill up Louis’s spine. “Is that so?”

Blushing, Louis nods and faces Harry. “We seem to be alike in that we both are tired of the same topics.”

Harry nods knowingly. “Your mother and the Graces are big gossips aren’t they?”

Louis giggles. “You have no idea. I do believe they could add goddesses of gossiping onto their titles.”

Harry smiles softly at Louis and offers his arm. Louis places his hand in the crook of Harry’s elbow. His stomach is aflutter with all sorts of feelings. Yes, this is exactly what he needed after a horrible conversation with his mother.

The next morning finds Louis feeling exhausted. He and Harry had walked around Harry’s property for several hours the night prior. But despite his lack of sleep, Louis feels warm knowing he has found a friend in Harry. Someone he can confide in and somewhere he can go when being on Olympus is too much. 

Part of him wishes he could go back to the mortal world and spend a day with Harry. Despite spending almost all night with the god talking, Louis never found out what Harry is the god of exactly. When he asked, Harry merely stated that he was a lowly one and his powers wouldn’t hold a flame to Louis.

Louis saw the lie easily, but didn’t want to call Harry out on it. He doesn’t want to anger the only friend he has and lose his refuge. Louis believes that in time, when Harry feels comfortable, the god might tell Louis the truth.

For now, Louis needs to get out of bed, get dressed, and head downstairs for breakfast. He and Demeter only have less than a month to plan and prepare everything they will need for the solstice.

“Morning, mother,” Louis greets as he steps into the kitchen. He’s already changed into his work clothes for the day, but he’s confused when Demeter doesn’t respond to him. Louis looks up and frowns when he sees the kitchen empty.

“Maybe she’s already in the greenhouse,” Louis guesses out loud and goes over to get his breakfast. He eats quickly, in case he’s running late and doesn’t know it.

When he opens the door to the greenhouse, he hears a peel of laughter and his mood instantly dampens.

“Mother, Antheia, it’s lovely to see you again,” Louis says politely when he reaches them. The two goddess are towards the center of the greenhouse with huge pots of greenery surrounding them.

“Morning, darling. I was going to wake you as soon as Antheia arrived, but she insisted on letting you sleep,” Demeter informs him.

Antheia, with her red hair twisted in an updo, gives him an overly cheery smile. “I knew you would want as much sleep as possible. We do have a long day ahead of us.”

Louis smiles diplomatically at the goddess. “Of course, what can I help with? Do you need me to make some flowers for the display?”

“Actually, Antheia and I can handle the display for now,” Demeter says. “Can you tend to the other plants? I think there are some tree nymphs that need help outside too.”

Disappointedly, Louis nods. “Of course, mother.” Obviously, he’s happy to help out wherever his mother needs him on any other day, but there’s less than a month until the spring solstice. Louis would think that she would need all the help she could get with creating and putting together the decorations as she’s never been this late getting things ready before.

In years past, Louis has helped to create the flowers for the display or anything else small to help out and it seems this year is no different. He grabs a watering can from the back of the greenhouse and heads outside. He feels like he could have stayed with Harry in the mortal world and his mother would never notice.

He hums a soft tune as he waters the plants surrounding their two-story cottage. The ivy along the side facing the front yard look like green tendrils trying to cover the entire home. Louis will have to trim them down so the stone that comprises most of the exterior isn’t completely hidden from view. 

He glances up to the cedar cladded gables and wonders if a few of the boards need replacing. He’ll have to ask his mother about that one—he’s never allowed to climb the ladder up to the gables. If that doesn’t happen, he’ll have to move his poppies from his windowsill, as his room is the only one on the second story and his mother surely would not like him possessing the flowers. If she didn’t want to have it be in the spring solstice decor, she will not like it being in her home.

As he rounds the corner of the house, he hears bickering coming from some of the willow trees nymphs. These must be the nymphs Demeter had mentioned.

“You are getting too close to me, Willow! I need sunlight too!” A birch tree nymph huffs as Louis gets closer. “You’ve been getting closer to me day by day. Don’t think I haven’t noticed!”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Birch. You’re so tiny compared to me, and I need sunlight more than you.”

“I may be smaller than you, but that doesn’t mean I need less space than you!”

“Hello!” Louis interprets and the two tree nymphs jump back in surprise as if they didn’t hear him walking over. Both of the nymphs mimic the shape of their namesakes with Willow having a plumper form than Birch. “Can I help you sort something out?”

The tree nymph on the right, Birch, pivots to face him and crosses her arms. “Willow is encroaching on my territory and I’ve had enough of it!” 

“Louis,” Willow says calmly. “You helped bring us here, you know I would never take more room than what I need.”

“Well,” Louis glances between the two nymphs. “Let’s see, shall we?” He walks around them and to their respective homes. By first glance, it does seem that Willow has slowly been inching closer to Birch, but the two trees have been in the garden for centuries and have never had any disagreements. “From what I remember, the two trees need to have three paces in-between.” 

Right before he takes the first step from the willow towards the birch, Birch calls out, “But that’s not fair! Your feet are smaller than ours! Three paces for you is going to be smaller than Willow's or mine.”

Louis doesn’t really know what to say to that. If he agrees with Birch, then Willow could get upset, but if he doesn’t, Birch will only become more annoyed. 

“Why don’t we all take three paces and average them together?” Louis offers, thinking of no other compromise. 

As Birch takes her first step, Willow calls out, “No! That’s not a proper pace.” She walks over to Birch’s side. “You’re taking bigger steps on purpose."

Louis sighs and leans up against Willow’s home as he watches the two nymphs argue once more. There has to be something else he can do besides this. He hears the familiar creek of a tree as another nymph comes out.

Juniper comes out from the edge of the woods and flits her eyes between the two arguing nymphs. “I swear those two argue more than any other nymphs I know.”

Louis sighs and shakes his head. “Any tips on how to stop them?”

“Have them finally admit their feelings for each other,” Juniper put bluntly. 

Louis sputters and turns to gape at Juniper. “What? They like each other?”

“Definitely.”

“How can you tell?”

“Look at their posture,” Juniper points out. “See how they’re leaning towards each other? And how Birch is messing with her hair like she’s trying to fix it.”

“But Birch wants Willow to be further away from her?” Louis asks, feeling very confused. How can they way someone stands or fixes their hair have anything to do with feelings?

Juniper shakes her head. “Birch doesn’t know how to tell Willow about her feelings. I’ve been trying to encourage her to go for it, but she’s scared of being rejected.”

Louis nods, not knowing what else to say. He’s never had romantic feelings for someone, so he doesn’t have advice to give to Birch. He doesn’t know what it feels like to have such feelings. He might act like Birch in such a case. “I think I’ll head back to my home,” Louis points behind him.

“Go ahead, I’ve got this,” Juniper says with a wink. As Louis backs away, Juniper walks up behind Birch and slings an arm over her shoulder. The tree nymph jumps, having not heard her friend come up. When she whispers something into Birch's ear, the nymph lets out a squeak, turns as red as a tomato, hurries to her tree, and disappears from view.

“Juniper!” Willow hisses, eying the tree Birch just vanished into. “You scared her off again!”

“Like you were getting anywhere! I keep telling you to stop teasing her,” Juniper huffs.

The tree nymphs start their own hushed argument and Louis decides he needs to walk away. He can’t add anything to the conversation, and it seems like Juniper knows how to handle Willow and Birch better than he could.

He goes back to visit Harry a few days later. Demeter had left to travel to the mortal world to visit her temple, which allows him to slip through his hidden passageway before dinner. In the daylight, Louis is able to fully take in the expansiveness of Harry’s home.

The brown colored bricks sharply contrast the white of the courtyard floor and the trim around the windows and doors. The two story home is easily three times the size of Louis’ own. Not for the first time, Louis wonders what exactly Harry does. He knows most gods and goddesses can easily create mortal homes—Demeter has her own somewhere in Nice, but Louis knows it’s small and as inconspicuous as possible.

Louis sees movement in the windows and hurries over. A servant, dressed in all black with bright gold eyes, is startled at Louis’ presence. He opens the door and says sternly, “This is no place for people like you. You need to be on your way.”

Taken aback, Louis says, “I’m here to see Harry?”

“Who?”

“Erm, the master of the house? The owner? Is he here?” Could Louis have gotten the wrong home? He looks behind him just to make sure and he sees the familiar black iron gate and the red poppies.

He has the right home. Is Louis so insignificant enough that Harry didn’t tell his staff to expect him to visit? 

The servant goes to answer, but a voice from behind him beats him to it. “I can take care of this from here, Thanatos. You can continue with your duties.” 

The servant shifts to face Harry and bows, keeping his eyes on the floor as he does so. He leaves quickly, disappearing further into the home. Harry smirks at Louis and gestures from him to enter. 

As Louis steps over the threshold, a chill runs down his spin. “Are your servants always so scared of you?” He asks and rubs his arms to starve off the chilly air.

Harry glances where the servant left. “It’s better to be feared than loved sometimes.” He looks back at Louis and takes in his shivering form. “Let me get you something to cover up with,” he says and walks out of the room.

Louis takes the moment to look around the room. He’s in the library he’s only seen through the windows. Over by the window is a dark blue, velvet chaise lounge. A small table with a single candelabra sits beside the seat. Louis can imagine how comfortable it would be to sit and read while the flowers bloom or the leaves turn to amber. A bookcase filled with novels takes up the wall facing the windows.

But the showstopper of the room is the ceiling decorated to look like the night sky with gold accents as the constellations. Louis is staring at its beauty when Harry comes back into the room, a blanket draped across one arm.

“You don’t believe it to be gaudy, do you?” He asks softly. 

Louis glances over at the man for just a moment before his gaze returns to the ceiling. “Not at all. It’s breathtaking.”

Harry comes up behind Louis and covers his shoulders with the soft material. Despite the additional fabric warming his body, Louis still shivers when Harry whispers in his ear, “I’m glad you like it.” Harry keeps his hands on Louis’ shoulders and Louis is so very tempted to lean backwards and draw Harry’s arms to fully wrap around him.

Instead, he steps away from the man and clears his throat. “I was hoping we could continue our conversation from the other day.”

Unbothered by Louis’ actions, Harry nods and sits on one of the chairs in front of the bookcase. “Of course.”

Louis smiles softly and tucks into the chair opposite of Harry. “You’ve still not told me what you're the god of.”

Harry chuckles and props his chin on his hand. “And I’ve told you that it’s dead boring. I’d much rather hear about you. How are the poppy seeds you took from me doing?”

Louis grins and shakes his head. “If you’ll recall, you allowed me to take them. I’m no thief. They are doing very well, by the way. I need to repot them, though. They’re out-growing the ones I’ve put them in originally.”

“They’re already in pots?”

Louis nods proudly. 

“You were only here the first time a few weeks ago. I didn’t realize they would grow so quickly,” Harry says in astonishment. 

Louis preens over the praise and wraps the blanket tighter around his shoulders. He’s not used to such praise. “I sped up their growth so I could get them planted, but I’ve haven’t touched them with my magic recently.”

"What is it like?” Harry asks.

“What is what like?”

“To create things. In my line of … work, I don’t have the opportunity to create living things. I’d imagine the feeling is …” He trails off and shakes his head. “I don’t know what the feeling would be like.”

Louis studies him carefully. This is the first time Louis has seen Harry talk with excitement. In their previous conversations, Harry has always kept his tone calm. He’s always listened to Louis and asked him questions. In return, Harry usually answers Louis’ own queries simply as if he were reading off notes from a book.

But this is the first hint Louis has gotten about what Harry could possibly be the god of, and he has to explore this avenue. “I think I take my abilities for granted.” Louis shifts around in his seat and curls his legs up to his chest. “To me, helping plants grow or making hundreds of flowers is an everyday occurrence for me. The thrill of doing the act of actually creating something out of nothing gets lost. I forget the wondrous feeling.”

“You can create flowers out of thin air?” Harry asks curiously.

“Only if I’ve touched the plant or have used the seeds before. It’s why I had to come here to get the poppy seeds. Since I’ve never held or even seen a poppy before, there was no way for me to just create it.” 

“Can you show me?”

Louis nods and smiles at Harry’s inquiry. He pulls his hands out from under his blanket cocoon and cups them in front of his body. He closes his eyes for just a second to concentrate and when he opens his eyes and palms, a small poppy sits nestled between his hands.

Harry’s face holds an expression of awe when Louis looks up.

“Here,” he says and reaches forward to offer the flower to Harry.

Harry hesitates as if the flower would hurt him.

“I promise it won’t hurt you,” Louis teases.

Harry smiles tightly and carefully takes the poppy from Louis’ hand. The moment the flower leaves Louis’ touch, it darkens and dries up. “I’m afraid this is a common occurrence.”

Louis shakes his head and steps over to Harry. He sits on the small table in front of the other god and cups his hand around Harry’s.

A thrill goes through him and he wishes he could control the blush overtaking his cheeks. He ignores the feeling of Harry’s eyes on him and focuses on the dried poppy. Gently, he pushes his magic forward and watches as the poppy’s color return until it looks new again. 

Harry releases a breathy laugh of astonishment and Louis smiles softly at him. “What do you think?” Louis gets captured by Harry’s green eyes, unable to look away or even take a breath.

“I think you’re the most magnificent creature I’ve ever met.”

“You must not have met many creatures then.”

Harry’s eyes glance downward to Louis’ lips and his tongue darts out to wet his own. “None like you.”

Louis takes a shuddering breath and curls his fingers around Harry’s hand.

Harry twists his hand and brings Louis’ up to his lips where he brushes them softly over the top of Louis’ knuckles. “Let me get a vase for the poppy.” Harry breaks their stare and Louis feels as if he’s been broken out of a trance when Harry stands up.

Once he’s alone again, Louis takes a deep breath and walks around the room. Anything to get him out of the odd trance Harry had him under. He pulls the blanket tighter around him and walks over to the bookcase. 

As the sun is beginning to set, the rays shine into the room and something sparkly catches Louis’ eye. On one of the bookshelves sits an emerald the size of his fist. He can’t believe it didn’t see it before as the gem stands out against the dark covers of the books. 

Just as he goes to hold it, Harry calls out, “You can’t touch that.” His voice has a panicked edge to it and Louis jumps away from the shelf.

“What’s wrong with it?” Louis asks, his eyes going from the emerald to Harry.

Harry moves the emerald to an upper shelf, as if Louis would try to touch it again. “It’s cursed.”

“But you can touch it?” 

Harry chuckles lowly and nods. “Not much can harm me at this point.” He takes the poppy from Louis’ hand, places it in the water filled vase, and sets it where the emerald was on the shelf. “There, a much better addition.”

Louis tucks his curiosity of the emerald away as he knows Harry won’t elaborate and instead looks over the shelves of books. “Have you read all of these?”

Harry hums. “Most of them. I’ve been too busy recently to have time to read anything.”

But now that Harry’s brought it up, Louis might as well try to see if Harry will divulge any hints about what he does. “Busy doing what?”

Harry smirks at him and crosses his arms, knowing exactly what Louis is after. “With my work. It’s been more demanding than usual.”

“Any particular reason why?” Louis asks, grinning back at him. 

“You’re not the only one who’s busy this time of the year. How is the solstice planning coming? Just about ready for the party?”

Louis sighs deeply at Harry’s question and leans against the bookcase. He wishes that Harry would tell him about his work, but he has to respect him for keeping some things to himself. “I truly believe that I could disappear one day and my mother wouldn’t care. Instead of letting me help her with the decorations or even listen to my ideas, she has me take care of the rest of the plants and enlists the help of one of her friends instead.”

“Have you offered ideas to her?”

“Yes, only to be shot down just as quickly as I mentioned it,” he says frustratedly. He pulls the blanket tighter around him as it suddenly becomes colder in the room. 

“What was your idea?”

“I wanted to highlight a single flower and have it be the main focus of the decor.”

“Which flower?”

Harry asks, and Louis nods towards the poppy in the small vase and Harry’s smirk turns into something softer. “Poppies?”

“Yes, but instead we’re doing something different which I’m sure will be heavy on Antheia’s influence.”

“Antheia of the Graces?”

“Yes,” Louis says bluntly, feeling the annoyance that usually follows after talking about her. “The Graces were the ones talking to Mother the night of the Winter Solstice. It seems sometimes that Mother appreciates Antheia's opinion more than mine. Her own child and the god of spring. One would think I would have a bigger say in the Spring Solstice.”

“I’m sorry that’s happening to you. Is there anything I can do?”

“Keep me company during the party as I’m sure I will be terribly bored.”

Harry clears his throat and fiddles with one of the rings adoring his fingers. “I don’t think I’m planning on attending. Parties aren’t much of my thing.” He sounds disheartened as if he wishes things were different.

“Well, don’t worry,” Louis reassures. “I promise to come tell you all about it. I’m sure I’ll have quite an opinion about it.”

“I look forward to hearing your review.”

The decorations for the Spring Solstice party look horrendous in Louis' opinion. There's a smattering of ferns everywhere and only a few pink and purple flowers dot the surfaces of the tables. It feels more like a rainforest than a celebration of Spring.

Even though Demeter never explained where the idea came from, Louis knows her plans were heavily influenced by Antheia. The goddess in question looks annoyingly pleased with herself as she talks to her sisters and Demeter. Louis tries not to send glares towards the group as he lingers on the sidelines.

A part of him wants to march in the center of the room and yell that this is not what he wanted. He had such a great idea for the party and it still annoys him to no end that it was shot down so quickly. He picks up a glass of ambrosia-infused champagne and looks around the room. 

He’s dressed in one of his nicer togas in pastel pink that flows when he walks. Despite it being a Spring party, the ballroom is quite warm, so Louis is able to wear the toga around his thighs instead of longer like he had fully planned on. 

He had hoped that, despite being told otherwise, Harry would show up. He knows the man would have been able to make him feel better and distract him about the atrocious decor. 

With one sweep around the room, he knows that Harry’s not come. He holds out hope regardless and walks the perimeter of the room. He tries to keep an eye out for a familiar mess of curls and dark green eyes.

Several high ranking nymphs come over to him to praise him and his mother for their work on the decorations and he forces a grin as he thanks them. In truth, he only helped his mother carry the decor to the room. He takes tentative sips of the champagne as he’s not too keen on alcohol. He’s already spotted Dionysus carrying more than one glass and with an arm around some of the nymphs.

“Louis, darling,” he hears his mother call. “Come here!” 

He turns to his right and spies his mother waving him over with a bright smile on her face. He smiles tightly as he walks over and nods in greeting to Antheia and her sisters.

“Evening everyone,” he says when he joins the group.

“I’ve gotten so many compliments on the arrangements tonight, thank you so much for helping me, darling,” his mother says and places a hand lightly on his arm.

“This is easily the best the Springs Solstice has looked, Demeter,” Algaia comments. “You’ve truly outdone yourself.”

“Oh,” Demeter chuckles and waves her hand in dismissal. “It wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for your sister.” She raises her glass towards the redheaded goddess. "Truly a blessing to have your help this year.”

“Maybe this could be a permanent addition to your planning team,” Paithea adds cheerfully, nudging her sister.

Antheia shakes her head, but the smile on her face clearly shows how much she loves the idea. “I wouldn’t dare leave my sisters to Aphrodite. I’d miss the gossip too much!” 

The four goddess laugh at that and Louis has to force himself to join in, however strained his laughter might be.

“Besides,” Antheia continues. “One day Louis could be of some service to Demeter.” 

Louis smiles tightly at the Grace and has to bite his lip to keep himself from yelling at her. He is so much more than someone to water the plants. He has ideas and untapped creative potential that he could put to good use if someone would listen to him. He has a horrible feeling that soon, Antheia will be Demeter’s main source for creative help while Louis always stays in the background, tending to the plants.

Don’t get Louis wrong, he doesn’t mind being in the background. It’s what he is used to after a few millennia. But it would be nice to be seen by someone and seen as a person and not the help.

“There’s always next year, Antheia,” Louis playfully teases and he takes a sip of his drink. “Mother doesn’t like to reuse ideas.”

Antheia smiles tightly at him, sensing his disdain for her. “I look forward to hearing your ideas next year.”

Demeter reaches up and fiddles with the flower crown Louis wears. “My boy has the best ideas,” she raves. “Someday he’ll take over for me, but that might be a few more decades of training. You’re still an apprentice”

A heavy feeling settles in the pit of Louis’ stomach, but he nods and smiles at his mother. He’s ready now to take over.

For the rest of the evening, Louis lingers on the edge of the room, watching as his fellow gods and goddesses mingle and celebrate the beginnings of spring. As he steps out onto the patio, he can’t help but wonder what kept Harry from attending.

There must be something keeping the god busy enough that he couldn’t come. Even Athena, always studying and tasked with helping the mortals in their societal advancements, has come to the solstice. Louis spots the grey-eyed goddess by Hermes, conversing with him likely about human affairs. 

It’s breezy out on the patio, just enough to woosh the fabric around Louis’ thighs and to ruffle the flowers adoring his head. In his own subtle act of rebellion, Louis added a flower crown of pinks and soft yellows to his attire at the last minute.

He was tempted to use the poppies in his arrangement, but knew his mother would send him straight home at the sight of the red flower and potentially forbid him to come to another solstice for a few decades. 

In all honesty, Louis feels bored. Despite being excited to finally be able to attend another solstice party, Louis is beginning to miss the sanctuary of his room. Without someone to converse with, there’s nothing for Louis to really do other than awkwardly stand on the sides of the room.

Louis quickly makes up his mind and goes back inside to find his mother. She’s moved to the refreshments table, piling her plate high with various fruits and vegetables. 

“Mother, I’m going to go back home,” Louis says when he reaches her side. 

Demeter looks at him with concern, shifting her plate to one hand so she can brush the back of her fingers over his cheek. “Are you feeling alright, darling?”

Louis nods vehemently as he doesn’t want her to leave the party any earlier than usual. “You know parties aren’t my favorite and I’m still tired from helping with the decor.”

Demeter smiles in relief and brushes her hands down his arm. “You love your plants at home more than all this frivolous nonsense. Shall I walk you home? Make sure you get there safely?”

“No, no!” Louis shakes his head. “It won’t take me long and I’ll only keep you from the party you’ve worked so hard on.”

Demeter ponders this for just a moment before she nods, relenting to Louis leaving on his own. “Get home safely, Louis. I won’t be long.”

Louis nods and hurries out of the party space. Once he’s in the hallway, he grins to himself. In years past, Demeter has straggled back home in the late afternoon the day after a solstice, having spent the night partying with the other gods.

Louis knows this year will be no different, which leaves him plenty of time to himself.

The garden gate creaks as Louis swings it open and again when he closes it behind him. At least he’s not trying to sneak in like he was over a month ago. He hurries over to the library door and knocks twice, not waiting long before a familiar figure steps into the room to join him outside. 

“Hi, Harry,” Louis greets, beaming up at the man, elated to see him again. 

“Evening, Louis. I wasn’t expecting you tonight.” His eyes rake over Louis’ body and Louis feels the faint heat of a flush cross his cheeks. “Shouldn’t you be at the solstice?” 

“I told you I would tell you all about the party, didn’t I?”

Harry chuckles and steps beside him, offering Louis his arm. “That you did. And how was it?”

Louis tucks his hand over Harry’s elbow and lets the god guide him across the courtyard. “I’m here instead of there. That should tell you enough.”

Harry grins knowingly. “The decorations were horrible weren’t they?”

Louis throws his head back and groans. “Even the worst of my ideas were better than what the room turned out to be. I’m wearing more flowers than were present in the decor. It was truly awful and definitely not spring-like.”

Harry hums and takes in Louis’ brightly colored outfit and accessories. “You look like the picture of spring.”

Louis snorts and shakes his head. “You’re just saying that.”

“I don’t have to be there to know that you were the best dressed one. Zeus and Hera were probably wearing matching outfits while bickering about their never ending marriage problems. Apollo must have been dressed head to toe in gold and always near the band to add his own rendition to the piece. And you were standing there, like a bright beacon in amongst the darkest of nights, waiting for someone to notice your beauty.”

Louis blushes then and ducks his head, staring down at the grass as they walk across the yard. “Now I know you’re talking nonsense. But I did feel out of place there.”

“Did you?”

“I don’t know many gods and goddesses actually,” Louis confesses. “As I’ve only been allowed to attend the solstices this year, most only know me because of my mother, and it’s difficult to fully step out of her shadow and be my own person.”

When Harry stays silent, Louis quickly backtracks. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to throw that all on you.”

“Don’t be,” Harry says firmly, sincerity in his voice. “You’re allowed to want to be someone separate from your mother. Do you think she will let you run the Spring Solstice next year?”

“I think she will eventually. I just don’t know if I can be patient for that day to come.”

“Well,” Harry pauses and turns them to face the back of the brick mansion. “Why don’t you decorate the courtyard to how you wanted the solstice to look like?”

Louis takes a small step back, looking up in shock at Harry. “What?”

Harry smiles encouragingly at him. “You shouldn’t let your idea go to waste and I’ve got nothing pressing to attend to right now.”

Louis glances over at the courtyard, taking in the expansive space while imagining the set up. Poppies could curl around the railing with an accompaniment of pink flowers to match. Some ferns with other pink floras could frame the space. Purple, blue, and white hydrangeas could be scattered around with a large poppy centerpiece in the middle to complete the look.

“Are you sure?” Louis checks just one time, a grin starting to take over his face.

Harry smiles softly at him, sensing his enthusiasm. He releases Louis’ arm and sweeps his own to gesture to the empty space. “Have at it.”

Louis smiles as he steps up to the courtyard with a wave of his hands, he creates the setting he had in his head. Within moments, the courtyard is filled with plants and flowers. When he turns back to face Harry, the god is staring at him in awe.

Feeling bashful at the attention, Louis walks over to the railing and fiddles with the poppies there. 

Harry comes to join him and takes Louis’ hand in his. He brings it up to his lips and presses a kiss to the top of Louis’ knuckles. Louis’ eyes track Harry’s motions and he’s breath catches the moment Harry’s lips brush Louis’ skin.

“I’m still so in awe of you,” Harry says softly, keeping a hold of Louis’ hand. Tentatively, Harry brings his other hand up to cup Louis’ cheek and slowly bends down.

Fire sparks in Louis’ belly when Harry’s lips connect with his own. He gasps against Harry’s lips—this is the first time anyone has done this to Louis. Harry takes his tentativeness in stride and patiently waits as Louis’ lips mold to his.

Louis’ hand travels from Harry’s hand to his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin underneath his palm. 

Harry’s tongue darts out to trace against Louis’ lips. Louis pulls back, not used to the feeling.

“Oh,” he says breathlessly and he feels Harry grin against his lips. He leans in again and Harry carefully repeats the action. Louis lets Harry guide the kiss and sets the pace to something soft. He relaxes into Harry’s embrace as Harry entwines their fingers and brings their joined hands behind Louis’ back.

Harry brushes his thumb over Louis’ cheeks as he slows their kiss until their lips are barely brushing against one another. “Sorry,” Harry whispers. He steps back, releasing the hold he had on Louis and looking bashful as he does so. He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never done something like that before.”

“You’ve never kissed someone?”

“No, I have, but,” Harry trails off, avoiding Louis’ eyes. “I don’t think it’s ever felt like that.”

Boldly, Louis reaches a hand out, his finger drawing patterns on the back of Harry’s hand where it lays on the railing. “Like what?”

Harry looks down at their hands, takes a deep breath, and leans forward again to connect their lips briefly. “Without getting too graphic, most of my relationships have never been anything more than something to scratch a carnal itch. But you make me want something deeper.” He cradles the side of Louis’ face as if Louis were a delicate flower petal. “You make me want to shirk all of my responsibilities and do nothing but sit and talk with you. You have me completely captivated, and I’m not used to that feeling.”

Louis’ heart soars at Harry’s words as he feels the same. For a few years now, Louis has felt stuck in his role on Olympus. He’s been doing the same thing for so long with little to no change. Every time he leaves Harry’s mortal home, he wants more and more for the conversations to last a little bit longer, for Harry to pull him closer, for the moon to stay in the sky longer. There’s something about Harry that makes Louis want more, and he has to chase that feeling.

“Sometimes I think that you must not be real, because I can’t believe that I could have met someone like you. You must have enchanted me when we first met,” Louis confesses, still drawing mindless shapes on Harry’s hand, his fingers tracing over the rings that always seem to be present. 

Harry looks up grinning mischievously. “Perhaps I have,” he teases, twisting his hand around and pulling Louis closer to him so he can wrap an arm around Louis’ waist. Louis can feel the heat from his body seep through the material of his toga. 

“Then that means I’ve done the same to you.” Louis giggles and tilts his head up to connect their lips again. “Do you know what I wish?”

“What?”

“I wish we had some music so we could dance. I wanted to do that with you that first night.”

Harry smiles softly and with a scrunch of his nose, the faint sound of violins float down to them.

Louis looks over at Harry in surprise. “How are you doing that?”

Harry doesn’t answer and moves them away from the poppy covers railing until they’re more in the middle of the courtyard, a cheeky smile gracing his lips. Harry settles his hand on Louis’ waist and starts to guide them into a dance. 

Louis, having never really been taught how to formally dance, takes the steps slow, looking down at their feet every now and then to make sure he doesn’t step on Harry’s toes. 

“Don’t think about it,” Harry says against his temple. “I’ve got you.”

“Okay,” Louis whispers and scrunches his nose when Harry places a single kiss to the tip of it. He leans his head against Harry’s shoulder being wary of his flower crown.

His eyes fall upon his floral additions to the courtyard and smiles at how they look in the soft light emitting door from the moon overhead and the lights from the library behind them.

Harry brings their hands up to his lips and the god presses feather light kisses to Louis’ knuckles before he rests them on his chest.

As the music swells to a gentle crescendo, Louis sighs and closes his eyes, feeling at peace. Here at Harry’s mortal home, far away from Olympus and his mother, and in the embrace of someone quickly becoming Louis’ favorite person, Louis feels at home.

Louis has found something worth all the sneaking around night after night.

“I think I could become addicted to you,” Harry whispers ever so softly into Louis’ hair. “I almost don’t want to let you leave tonight.”

Louis looks up at him and nods in agreement as they turn slowly in a circle. “I feel the same, but for the next three months, I’ll be busy helping Mother with taking care of spring in the human world.”

“Does she have many temples?”

“A fair few. Enough to keep both of us occupied for the entirety of spring, but once summer arrives everything is ramped up for her even more as humans go to her temples more often. Always praying for a bountiful summer and needing help preparing their fields for the fall before winter comes once again. It’s an endless cycle.”

Harry’s face is illuminated by the moonlight which makes it easy for Louis to see a crease in the space between his eyebrows. “You sound as if you’re fatigued by the idea.”

Louis sighs and settles his head on Harry’s shoulder again. “I don’t know. There’s something about this year that feels different for me. Not to boast, but I’m rather good at my duties—why else would I be the god of spring? But I feel like there’s something else out there for me that I could do. Something that would liven up my day to day.” 

He feels Harry hum. “I understand exactly what you mean. Perhaps it’s best that we’ve found each other. You’ve already animated my life the past two months— three if you go back to the Winter Solstice.”

Smiling, Louis looks up at Harry to find him already staring at him with soft eyes. “I’ll have to make time to come back down to visit you, but it might be rather sparse until summer.”

Harry slows their pace until they fully stop. “In that case,” he breaks their dancing stance and grabs Louis’ hand, leading him into the library. “Let me give you something.” He walks them over to the bookcase on the far right wall by the hallway and reaches up to retrieve a wooden box.

Opening it, Harry pulls out a silver chain that looks delicate to the touch with a bright blue sapphire in a teardrop shape connected to it. Harry turns to Louis and grins brightly at him. “Unlike the emerald you found, this one is not cursed.” He gestures for Louis to turn around and places the necklace on him. The gem rests perfectly between Louis’ collarbones. “Whenever you’re on your way here, wear this and I’ll make sure to be here to greet you.”

Louis touches the gem, feeling it’s cool smoothness and bites his lip. “Thank you, Harry.”

“You’re welcome,” Harry murmurs and leans down to press their lips together once more in a soft embrace. He keeps the kiss just as light and gentle as the necklace that now graces Louis’ neck.

The day after the solstice was a normal one. Louis woke up, bathed, and dressed before he headed downstairs. Demeter’s bedroom door was still closed and Louis knew she would sleep well into the afternoon.

He fixes himself a simple breakfast of fruit and granola and sits at the kitchen island while he eats. Through the kitchen window, he spies the two trees that lead to the mortal world. He smiles to himself as he hums the melody from the night before. He had hidden the sapphire necklace from Harry deep in one of his drawers in his room just in case his mother goes snooping.

He’s already eager to slip through the trees again, but he has duties today. The centerpieces from last night arrived back in the greenhouse overnight and need to be disassembled. To no surprise, Antheia will not be joining Louis and his mother to help with this process.

The various other plants in and around the greenhouse need watering and pruning. Just like he told Harry, Louis will be engrossed with helping Demeter tend to the different temples and prayers of the humans.

When he goes outside, he peeks around the corner of the house to check on Willow and Birch. He had asked Juniper just last week if the two tree nymphs had made any progress in their confessions and was disappointed to learn that they hadn’t. One look at the two trees told Louis that it was still the case as Willow’s home was farther away from Birch’s. 

He briefly wonders if moving them to their own space would help them finally tell one another how they really feel. 

In any case, there are plants to prune, prayers to answer, and other tree nymphs to help with the landscaping.

Spring flies by in an endless cycle of helping Demeter tend to those prayers and Louis slipping through the two trees in the backyard to go to Harry’s mortal house. Every time he does so, he and Harry always end up in the library, lying on the couch while Harry cuddles Louis close to his side or dancing on the courtyard. 

Escaping to Harry’s mansion quickly becomes Louis’ favorite way to decompress from a long day. Without fail, Louis dons the sapphire necklace before his departure to the human world and also without fail, Harry is there to greet him.

Every now and then, the servant from before, Thanatos, would come into the library and whisk Harry away for an important task. Harry would always reluctantly leave Louis to his own devices, but Louis didn’t mind. He understood how busy a god can be.

In one such instance, Louis decides to take the time to explore more of the home as he’s never ventured past the library. With one of Harry’s jackets thrown over Louis’ shoulders, the god of spring wanders down the hallway.

The house is quiet as he moves, and he assumes Harry and Thanatos have gone to a secluded part of the home to do their work. Wainscoting is high on the walls, almost to Louis’ shoulders, and makes him feel small as he walks down the hallway. The walls are painted a dark grey with only a few gas powered lanterns to light the way. 

Louis hears the crackling of a fire and follows the sound to a kitchen on the other side of the home. The room is large with red brick on the floor that seamlessly matches and flows up the brick of the fireplace. 

The room is large about the size of the kitchen and living room at Louis’ own home. Louis drifts over to the fireplace to warm his chilly hands and toes. He doesn’t see how Harry can enjoy being someplace so chilly all the time.

Wooden shelves stand along the wall in front of the fireplace and hold glass jars and ceramics in deep blues, reds, and purples. Several of the jars hold dried herbs for cooking. The kitchen island separates the two sides of the room and Louis wanders over to the kettle he spies on the counter to fix himself a cup of tea. 

He uses the jar of loose leaf tea that Harry’s left for him and he goes ahead to make Harry one too for when he’s done with work.

As the tea is finished brewing, he hears footsteps headed his way. He looks up right as Harry enters the room and smiles softly at him. “Fixed you a drink,” Louis tells Harry, walking over to the god and handing him his tea.

Harry takes the teacup and leans down to capture his lips. He nips Louis’ bottom lip before he soothes the sting with his tongue. “Thank you, petal.”

Louis runs his hand down Harry’s arm, loving the feeling of the soft fabric of Harry’s shirt. “Petal?”

Harry grins and takes a sip of the tea. “Yes, because you’re the god of spring.”

“I’m well aware, thank you, Harry.” He sends Harry a wink over the cup of his own teacup.

“Do you not like me calling you that?”

“I never said that. I quite like it. I’ll have to think of a nickname for you,” Louis says and leans against the counter. “All done with work.”

Sighing, Harry nods and rests his free hand on Louis’ back. “For now, I am. Do you want to lay down, Lou? You look tired.”

Louis hums and leans against Harry’s chest. “Yes, please. These next two weeks of spring are going to be so long. I may not be able to come until the Summer Solstice.”

Harry guides them out of the kitchen, back to the library, and to the couch where they always end up. “That’s alright,” Harry says and he cuddles Louis to his chest. “Don’t push yourself to come visit me.” He taps the sapphire sitting underneath Louis’ shirt. “That’s what this is for. Will you have much to do before summer starts?”

“It’s more of the same thing day to day. Mother is so busy that even the Graces haven’t come over as often as they usually do.”

“No gossip to entertain you?”

Louis snorts and finishes off his tea. “I actually think Mother has told Antheia not to come over because we’re so busy.” 

Harry takes his empty teacup and places it on the table beside his own before he wraps his arms around Louis. The two gods relax against the cushions and stare out to the garden in comfortable silence.

As they’re lying there, Louis spies the poppies that are still coiled around the railing. Something inside him warms at the sight as he remembers the night of the Spring Solstice. He twists around slightly to look up at Harry. “Do you still have the first poppy I made for you?”

“Of course.” Harry nods and his eyes dart up to the bookshelf across the room.

Grinning, Louis gets up to check on the flower. The small flower pot has fresh water in it and Louis sees some new growth as a few of the leaves are a brighter green than others.

“Louis,” Harry calls from the couch.

Louis looks over from where he’s standing by the poppy he gave the god. “Yes?”

“Have you ever been to the mortal world before you came to my house?”

Louis nods his head once. “I have, plenty of times, but I’ve always stayed away from humans.”

“Would you like to go into town? There’s a small seaside town nearby I think you would like.”

Louis bits his lip nervously. Although he’s seen humans from his place on Olympus and heard stories about them from his mother, he’s never really been around them before. In times past when he’s come to the mortal world, he’s stayed in the woods and by the plants.

Looking over at Harry’s expecting but calm eyes. Louis knows that the other god wouldn’t have offered the outing if Louis could be put in any danger. Besides, Louis is a god. No human can hurt him.

“Okay, I’d like that.”

Harry smiles and stands from the couch, running his hand down his shirt. “Excellent”, he walks over and pulls Louis in for a soft kiss. “We’ll go the next time you’re able to come.”

“Not tonight?”

Harry chuckles and pulls Louis away from the bookcase towards the couch. “No, most humans are sleeping now and those that are out are drunkards and pirates. It’d be best to go in the daylight when you can see the town better.”

Louis giggles as Harry pulls him down on top of his body in a flump motion. He rests his head on Harry’s chest and sighs as Harry pulls a blanket over the two of them. He squirms slightly to get in a more comfortable position between the back of the couch and Harry’s body, only relaxing when Harry wraps an arm around his shoulder and he rests his hand on Harry’s chest.

The day falls on the Summer Solstice. The gathering is an all day event as it’s the longest day of the year and Louis opts out of the attending.

“The winter and spring parties were quite fun, but I’m rather tired now that spring is over,” Louis tells Demeter as she gets ready.

She comes over to the bed where Louis is sitting surrounded by discarded outfit options and runs her fingers through his hair and along his cheek. “I understand, darling. You’ve been a huge help to me this season. I thought about not attending too.”

Louis smiles and shakes his head. “But you’re ready to party with the Graces and catch up on all the gossip you’ve missed the past three months.”

Demeter sighs is relief which makes Louis snicker. “I really am. I’m sure I’ll spend most of the day and night catching up with them.”

Which is exactly what Louis wants: for Demeter to stay at the party for as long as possible. “You deserve to wind down, Mother. Especially since you’ll be busy again with summer.”

Summer is hectic for Demeter as she has to take care of the harvest for the mortals, from protecting fruits from spoiling in the summer heat to preparing the soil for the fall harvest. She will be going to and from the mortal world almost as often as Louis secretly will.

“Yes, but I’m not thinking of it now. Now it’s time to celebrate!” She twists her hair into an updo, presses a kiss to the side of Louis’ face, and hurries out the door. “Be safe, darling. I’ll see you later tonight!”

Louis waits about an hour after Demeter has gone before he goes up to his room to change. Harry had advised him to wear something light as it will be warm as they walk around. Louis pulls light brown trousers and a white linen shirt. He slips on his sapphire teardrop necklace from Harry and some shoes before he heads out the door. 

Within minutes, he’s stepping through the garden gate and spies Harry waiting for him on the courtyard. The god is wearing a black shirt that he’s loosely tucked into black trousers. Louis smiles as he walks through the grass to meet him and sees his expression mirrored in Harry’s.

“Hi,” Louis greets as he steps up on the marble floor. 

“Afternoon, petal,” Harry murmurs just before he wraps his arms around Louis’ waist.

Louis breathes a sigh of relief now that he’s finally back with Harry. Time for gods is almost nonexistent, but it feels like ages since he’s properly seen Harry. “These two weeks seemed way too long. Let’s not do that again.”

“Agreed.” Harry rubs his hand up and down Louis’ back with one hand and cups his cheek with the other. He leans down and brushes their lips together ever so slightly that makes Louis raise on his tiptoes the tiniest bit to fully press their lips together. He’s always wanting more, more, more with Harry. “Are you ready?”

Their faces are close enough that their noses brush when Louis nods. Harry pecks the tip of it which makes Louis giggle. 

Harry pulls away and clasps their hands together. He leads them over to the side of the house where a horse drawn carriage is waiting for them. The dark grey horse is already hooked up to the carriage and Louis hurries over to the animal.

“What’s your name?” He coos as he slowly pets the soft fur. He looks back at Harry to see a very amused expression. “What?”

Harry slightly laughs as he comes up behind him to keep a hold of the horse’s bridle. “This is Alastor.”

“What a serious name for a gorgeous creature.”

“And what would you have named him?” Harry asks amusedly.

Louis twists his lips and looks over the animal. Alastor nuzzles his head along the front of Louis’ shirt which makes Louis giggle at the feeling. “Maybe Smokey? He seems to really like me though.” Harry has to pull the reins to move Alastor away from Louis as the horse is pushing his head against Louis’ body.

“He must smell fruit on you.” Harry brings a hand up to join Louis in brushing through his coat.

“Ah, that makes sense,” Louis nods. “There’s a few apple trees in the backyard—our newest additions. Actually,” Louis holds his hands out to Alastor and a bright green apple appears which the horse quickly gobbles up.

“Now he really won’t leave you alone.” 

Louis peeks at Harry out of the corner of his eye and the two gods exchange fond grins. “I think I might be okay with that.”

They continue to stare at one another and Louis feels the overwhelming need to kiss the other god. Just as he leans in to do so, Alastor swings his head against Louis’ chest, sniffing around for another juicy apple. 

Harry and Louis laugh at the animal, but the moment has been broken. Louis feeds Alastor one more apple before he steps away and follows Harry to the open air carriage. Harry helps him up to the seat and slides in beside him. 

“I thought about teleporting us to the town, but I think you would appreciate the journey,” Harry tells him as he snaps the reins to get Alastor to go forward. The cart jerks forward before it settles it rattles down the dirt path.

Once they reach a steady pace, Harry moves the reins to one hand so he can wrap an arm around Louis’ shoulders. 

Louis smiles as he leans against the other god. The sun is high in the sky as they bounce down the road, but there’s a slight breeze reminiscent of spring that flows through the trees and rustles the leaves.

“Have you been to this town before?” Louis asks, brushing his hair across his forehead.

“I have a few times,” Harry replies, tightening his hold on Louis as they go over a particularly large bump in the road. “It’s a trading port for humans, so it’s quite busy during the day.”

“What’s a trading port?”

If Harry was taken aback from his question, he doesn’t let it show. “It’s where humans have their trading ships go to drop off their wares. Then they’ll spread out the products to the nearby villages and towns.”

“I’d imagine it’d be much slower than a delivery from Hermes.”

Harry snorts out a laugh. “Yes, definitely slower.” 

Harry guides them to the outskirts of town and leaves Alastor at a nearby tree. He doesn’t tie up the animal though, and when Louis asks him why, Harry responds, “Alastor won’t wander while we’re gone.” Harry even unties Alastor from the carriage and the horse only moves away to nibble on the grass.

“There’s a place I want to show you before we go into town.”

“Okay,” Louis says and leaves a couple apples in the grass for Alastor to eat on while they’re gone.

Harry grabs his hand and laughs. “You’re going to have to come around and give him more apples, now that you’ve spoiled him.”

Louis beams up at him and falls in step as they walk down an unmarked path. “I’ll plant an apple tree outside the stable before I go back.”

The ground is bumpy, and Harry has to steady Louis a few times as they walk. Within a few minutes, Louis can hear the crashing of waves against rocks. The breeze picks up as they walk out of the woods and come to a clearing with a small rocky drop off.

The sea is a deep blue with white caps rushing towards the rocky shore right before it crashes onto the rocks below. 

“This way.” Harry tugs Louis over to the left.

“Where are you taking me?” Louis asks with a grin, so curious to see what Harry has planned. 

They start descending down the rocky path and Louis has to hold on tighter to Harry. "I don’t want to give away the surprise.”

“Can’t I get a hint?” Louis lets go of Harry’s hand to move behind him as the path narrows.

“It’s very … colorful,” Harry teases and smirks over his shoulder.

Louis laughs and shakes his head. He walks carefully as the path turns from dirt to small rocks underneath his feet. From this position, he shamelessly ogles Harry as they walk.

It’s mesmerizing to see Harry’s back muscles move underneath his black shirt. He almost wishes the shirt wasn’t in the way so he could see the expansiveness of his back. His eyes trail over to Harry’s arms and an idea pops into his head.

He hurries his steps before he jumps and wraps his arms around Harry’s shoulders with his legs squeezing his torso. 

Harry lets out a muffled, “Oof.” But takes Louis’ surprise attack in stride and cups his hands under Louis’ thighs to keep him up. 

“Much better,” Louis teases and rests his head on the side of Harry’s. He feels Harry’ body shake as he laughs.

“Comfortable, petal?”

“Yes, I should have thought of this sooner. We’ll have to include this in our nightly walks around your garden more often.” Louis giggles and sighs happily as Harry continues down the rocky path. 

A few minutes later, he veers off to the left. The waves sound louder from down here and when Louis looks up, he can see the top of the cliff they were once standing on. 

“Down you come,” Harry warns before he bends down to let Louis slide off his back.

They exchange amused smiles before Louis takes Harry’s hand again. They’re standing in front of the entrance to a cave and Louis' curiosity has peaked. He eagerly follows Harry inside and feels his face go slack in awe of what he sees.

The entire cave shines multi colored from different gems embedded in the wall. The size of the stones are so large, they almost look fake. Blues, purples, and white gems sparkle in the light of the sun. Somewhere above their heads, an opening in the cave’s ceiling allows sunlight to enter which only makes the room brighter. 

Louis laughs in astonishment and looks over at Harry. The god, instead of looking around the cave, is gazing at Louis with a soft smile. “How did you find this?”

“I was bored one day and wanted to see what was around my mortal home and stumbled upon it. I think it’s quite peaceful being in here and so far, no human has discovered it.”

Louis hums and closes his eyes. The cave feels cool with the breeze coming off of the sea and the only thing he can hear is the crashing of waves on the rocks below. He can see why humans haven’t found this place yet. The path over was narrow and one misstep would land the human along the rocky shore far below. “It’s so beautiful,” Louis says and spins in a slow circle around the room. “What’s further down?”

Harry glances behind him where the cave extends into the cliffside and hesitates to answer. “Much more of the same, but the sun can’t travel far down.”

“Is everything alright?”

“It is, petal. I’m just thinking.”

“Of?” Louis looks up at him with big expectant eyes and he sees Harry visibly swallow. It’s the first time he’s seen Harry slightly uncomfortable. Usually the god is so well put together. Whatever is on his mind, must really be bothering him.

“I’ve been alone for most of my existence. Sure, I have Thanatos and other servants to help me, but I’ve not let other gods or goddesses really into my life like I have you. There’s something about you, something bright and wonderful, that drew me to you that night. And now, I can’t imagine not having you around,” Harry says, studying their clasped hands.

Louis takes a step closer to him, and uses his free hand to lift Harry’s chin until their eyes lock. “I hope you know that I feel the exact way about you, too.”

“I’m not very bright or wonderful, love,” Harry says and gestures to his all black outfit.

“On the contrary, I disagree with you there. You’re bright like a star and just as wonderful to behold,” Louis whispers as he rises on his toes ever so slightly so he can connect their lips together. He slides his hand around Harry’s jawline to tangle in his soft hair. They trade gentle kisses before Louis pulls back as something in Harry’s last sentence pops back into his mind. “Love?”

Harry smiles softly at him, his dimples popping out and he wraps his arm around Louis’ waist, bringing their torsos together. “Yeah, I’m… I’m in love with you.”

A blush rushes to Louis’ cheeks and he feels as if his heart could burst from his chest. Images of flowers blooming in rapid time runs through his head and he feels as light as a petal. “I love you, too,” he says softly.

Louis wishes there was a way he could capture this moment, of him and Harry surrounded by sparkling jewels and tangled up in one another with their soft declarations still on each other’s lips. For now, he’ll be satisfied with getting lost in Harry’s lips and his touch.

Summer rushes by in a whirlwind. Most nights find Louis slipping through the two trees in the backyard to go to Harry’s home in the human world. There the two gods often go on walks if it’s not too hot outside or lounge around in the library.

Louis has explored more of the home with Harry, but the library is his favorite place to be as it overlooks the garden. One day, Louis is able to escape to the home in the early afternoon and spends it showing Harry how to take care of the garden. He had found out that one of Harry’s servants was responsible for it. That day ended with both gods covered in dirt as Harry had tried to distract Louis by pulling him down in the freshly placed mulch and kissing him fiercely. 

Louis’ never been so happy before.


	3. Chapter Two

It’s raining hard enough that Louis’ feet slip on the grass as he runs towards Harry’s home. He opens the door to the library and sighs when he sees Harry had someone lay out towels and a blanket for him. He quickly dries off as best he can and wraps the blanket around him. 

“Harry?” He calls out, knowing that the god will hear him. Harry always seems to appear shortly after Louis arrives, so he has no worries about being alone in the house for long. 

Sure enough, Harry comes around the corner a few moments later. “There you are,” he says and walks across the room to pull Louis into a hug. His arms wrap tightly around Louis’ waist and Louis melts into Harry’s embrace. It’s crazy just how much being in Harry’s presence acts like a balm to his soul. “I thought you wouldn’t come because of the rain.”

Louis shakes his head and presses his nose against Harry’s neck. He feels Harry shudder slightly as Louis’ nose is always cold. “I was hoping it would clear, but it was getting too late and I had to see you.”

They pull apart and Harry presses a kiss to Louis’ temple. “I’m glad you’ve made it back safely, petal. Are you hungry?”

Louis wraps an arm around Harry’s waist and shakes his head. “Just need a cuppa to warm me up.”

“I think I can manage that.” Harry leads them down the hallway and through the house to the kitchen. As always, the house is chilly, but the fireplace is roaring when they walk into the kitchen.

While Harry goes around to start a pot of tea, Louis stands near the fire to warm himself. He watches the other god as he flits around the room; grabbing a pot, starting the stove, fetching the tea. It’s almost entrancing to see the glint of Harry’s rings shine from the light in the room as his hands move to collect the items. 

If Harry were a Venus flytrap, Louis would be the easiest and most willing of prey. Harry’s love for him consumes him entirely and Louis is overwhelmed with the love he has for the god. Even when Harry is stern to Thanatos and the other servants in the household, he’s words are never sharp towards Louis. 

He’s never been rude or crass in a way that would compel Louis to leave. He’s always been a source of comfort for Louis and is willing to listen to Louis’ endless rants. Louis’ never felt so seen by someone and so appreciated by them. 

Louis is jolted out of his thoughts when a hand cradles his face. 

He looks up to Harry’s smirking face. “Deep in thought?”

Louis takes the offered teacup. “I love you,” he says earnestly.

Harry’s smirk widens into a smile causing a dimple to pop out onto his cheek. He leans down and captures Louis’ lips, being mindful of the steaming cup of tea. “So you’ve said.”

“And I’ll say it again for as long as I can,” Louis murmurs, stealing another kiss before he leans back to take a sip of his tea. He sighs as the liquid warms him up.

“I might hold you to that,” Harry teases and turns Louis so he’s facing the fire while being cradled by Harry’s arms.

Louis sags against his hold, leaning his head on Harry’s shoulders and smiling when Harry presses a kiss to the side of Louis’ head. “How was your day, my love?”

Harry runs his hands up Louis’ sides until his fingertips brush the sensitive skin of Louis’ hips. “Long, as usual. It feels as if I’m always working nowadays.”

Louis frowns and turns to face Harry. “Surly, you can decide your working hours.”

Harry smiles amusedly. “Then the work will pile up and I will be even busier than normal. It comes with the job. I’m used to it. Aren’t you and your mother always busy?”

“Well, with Summer almost gone, the plants will need to be brought into the greenhouse. Mother takes care of the earthly ones while I tend to the ones around our house.”

“Is that where she is now?”

Louis nods and covers his mouth while he yawns. “She’s going to be gone for a few weeks. But that means I can come here more often and stay longer.”

“Does that mean you’ll stay the night tonight?”

Louis’ smile mirrors Harry’s when he nods in confirmation. “Yeah, I would love nothing more. Do I finally get to see your room?”

Harry chuckles and takes Louis’ now empty teacup out of his hands to set it by the sink. “You can, but I feel like the buildup will not be worth it.”

“Let me be the judge of that,” Louis says and waits for Harry to return to his side so he can take his hand. “Is there a fireplace there too?”

Harry leads them around a corner and up the staircase. Louis doesn’t see anyone as they go through the home, but notices how dark all the room’s decor is. The hallways are painted a dark grey with paintings of landscapes from different areas of Mt. Olympus dotting the walls. 

“These are beautiful,” Louis admires, looking at one of the view from the courtyard in Zeus’ home. 

“Thank you,” Harry says and opens a door to his left. 

“Did you paint all of those?” 

Harry nods and smiles softly at Louis’ reaction. 

“That’s incredible. How come I didn’t know that about you?”

Harry goes around and lights several candles while Louis waits in the doorway. Slowly, the room illuminates to show a large four-post bed with blue velvet drapes tied on the posts. The grey color from the hallways continue in the room and a fireplace sits opposite of the bed which Harry quickly lights. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

Louis walks over to him and wraps his arms around Harry’s neck, drawing him down to a kiss. “I can’t wait to find out.”

They kiss for a moment, letting their lips glide over one another, and Louis practically melts into Harry’s touch. Feeling content to have Harry’s hands cupping his face and drawing him closer by the waist. Their kisses never lead to anything more, but are filled with adoration for one another that Louis could burst at the seams with how happy he is.

“Do you want me to run you a bath?” Harry murmurs against his lips.

Louis shakes his head and entwines his fingers into Harry’s soft hair.

Harry pulls away for just a second so he can lift Louis into his arms bridal style. Louis giggles gleefully and presses feather light kisses to the edge of Harry’s jaw. He’s slowly placed on top of the bed and Harry joins him.

The only sound in the room is the crackling of the fire and the soft smacking of lips. Harry rolls until he’s half on top of Louis, his weight a comforting one.

Harry’s hand traces the length of his hips and slips his fingers under the hem of Louis’ linen shirt. His fingertips trace the line of Louis’ hipbone and Louis suddenly wants them to go lower as he gets harder.

Their kisses become more and more heated as the seconds tick by and Louis pulls Harry closer to him. Harry slots his legs in between Louis’, and Louis gasps at the pressure. “Harry,” he whispers, shocked at how good it feels. He’s never felt this rush before and he craves more.

His eyes flutter open when Harry rolls his hips forward and Louis feels his cheeks redden when he feels Harry is just as hard in his own trousers. 

“Is this okay?” Harry asks, his green eyes searching for an answer as he brushes his thumb over Louis’ cheek. 

Louis takes a shuddering breath and reaches up to circle Harry’s wrist. He feels so delicate under Harry’s gentle touch. He tilts his head to the side and skims his lips over Harry’s palm. He looks up at Harry under his eyelashes and slowly nods. He wants more of this feeling and he knows that Harry will take care of him and treat him with reverence like he always does.

The corner of Harry’s lips perk up before he bends his head down and captures his lips once more in a gentle embrace. Louis’ breath picks up as Harry rolls his hips downward, putting delicious pressure exactly where Louis needs it.

He starts to feel warm between the fire filling the room with its heat, the heat coming from Harry, and the heat building in Louis’ own body. 

As if reading his mind, Harry tugs on Louis’ shirt until it comes off. He throws it to the side and runs his hands over the exposed skin. Louis sighs against Harry’s mouth at his touch and starts to pull at the fabric covering Harry’s torso.

Harry sits up for a brief second to take his shirt off. Louis lays back, his head props up by the pillows on the bed, and stares at Harry’s toned chest, the curve of his stomach, and the visible strength in Harry’s arms.

Something inside Louis snaps and he suddenly wants to run his hands over every inch of this man. Feels the need to memorize the plains of his body until he can clearly see it in his mind’s eye when they are forced to part once more.

The pleasure continues to build and the two gods pant into each other’s mouth, unable to even finish a kiss. Harry brings a hand down to pull Louis’ hips closer to his own and groans into Louis’ neck as his hips stutter. The same hand cups Louis’ hardness and suddenly, Louis feels a rush of pure bliss. He throws back his head as he lets the feeling consume him.

As he comes down, he realizes Harry is lapping his tongue over the side of his neck and he turns to meet his touch. Their tongues tangle together and their kisses slow until they’re no more than a lazy press of lips sliding over each other.

As Louis pulls back, a smile overtakes his face and he starts to giggle, looking up at Harry.

The god copies his expression, albeit slightly confused. “What is it?”

Louis brushes a few stray strands of hair behind Harry’s ear and cranes his head upwards to kiss Harry again. “I don’t think I’ve ever been truly happy in my life before I met you. I wish I had known you sooner.”

Harry’s smile turns into something softer, more understanding and he nods in agreement. “I feel the exact way. I never expected someone like you, but now I can’t imagine my existence without you by my side.”

Louis bites his lip to try to contain his smile. “I think I’ll take that bath now.” He squirms underneath Harry and giggles. 

Harry chuckles softly and presses his lips to Louis’ forehead. “Just a moment, petal.”

Unfortunately, Harry has to get up to prepare the bath and Louis rolls onto his side and watches Harry as he slips into through the door to the left of the bed. He hears the water run and relaxes into the bed. His eyes start to slip close, being lulled by the sound of water filling the bath and the crackling of the fire.

Moments later, he’s shaken awake by an amused Harry. “C’mon, love. You can sleep soon.”

Louis nods and allows Harry to pull him into a standing position. The bathroom is small with only a sink, mirror, and a large bathtub residing in it. The water is steaming from the tub and Louis sighs when he skims his fingers over to top of it. 

“I’ll give you a moment to get in,” Harry says from the doorway.

Louis looks at him curiously. “You aren’t going to join me?”

Harry smirks and rakes his eyes across Louis’ body. “When I have you completely bare in front of me, I will want to spend hours acquainting myself with every part of you, but you are much too tired for that tonight.”

“Oh,” Louis says and he feels his cheeks heat up at Harry’s implications. “I see.”

Harry chuckles and reaches for the door to close it. “Take your time, petal.”

“Thank you,” Louis whispers as the door closes and he’s alone. He breathes out deeply and presses his hands to his still red cheeks. He still feels loose limbed and relaxed from his and Harry’s activity on the bed earlier. He will definitely want to explore that feeling later on with Harry.

He smiles as he pulls off his ruined and stiff trousers. If only his mother knew what he gets up to when she’s gone. He would never be allowed to leave the house ever again. 

He sinks into the warm water and relaxes against the porcelain. He’s curious to know what else the weekend will hold for him. Whether Harry will sleep in the same bed as him tonight. Whether Harry will cook him breakfast, will walk with him through the gardens, will touch him like that again.

As he stares at the candles Harry’s lit around the room, Louis feels his eyes begin to droop. The combination of coming down from such bliss and the warm water surrounding him mixes together in a soothing concoction that causes his breathing to slow and his eyes fall completely until he’s fast asleep.

Louis vaguely hears the door to the bathroom door open, feels the soft but strong arms of Harry around his body, and the whip of cool air fluttering his hair before he succumbs fully to the day’s events.

When Louis wakes up, he feels the weight of blankets over his body and the softness of the pillow beneath his head. He sighs contently and squirms deeper into his blanket cocoon. He blindly reaches in front of him, searching for warm skin and coming up empty. 

He hums in confusion as he has been hoping for early morning cuddles before they had to face the day. Louis rolls onto his back and stretches, tensing all his muscles before he relaxes into the bed. He feels so well rested that he almost wants to go back to sleep, but his stomach growls and he misses Harry so he opens his eyes.

He stares confusingly at the ceiling, not remembering it being painted black, but he was slightly distracted last night by other things than the ceiling color. It’s not until he sits up that his confusion deepens into something more like panic. Gone are the grey walls and familiar feel, and in its place is dark colored wood. The fireplace is still across from the bed, but it’s much bigger. To the right of the bed is a large window with blue velvet curtains drawn over it.

Louis is quick to get out of bed, barely noticing that he’s wearing something that’s definitely not what he was wearing last night, and goes over to the window. He pulls one curtain back and feels his heart drop when he doesn’t recognize the view. 

It looks like someone has dropped a home inside of a cave. Stalactites hang from the ceiling high above him, around the home are grey buildings that almost blend into the stone of the walls. The only way Louis can distinguish the buildings from one another are the stone stacked chimneys putting out small whispers of smoke as the inhabitants have their own fireplaces lit.

Gone are the green spaces and trees that Louis is used to seeing around Harry’s home, and Louis can sense that he’s far away from Olympus and anything dealing with nature. 

The opening of a door causes Louis to jump and he sees a servant, dressed in all black, come into the room carrying a tray.

The servant bows to Louis and places the tray on a table by the fireplace. “Breakfast for you sir. The master wants to see you after you’ve eaten. I shall show you the way when you’re ready.”

Louis doesn’t move, still clutching the curtain in his hand. “Where am I?” He asks, trying to keep his voice steady as to hide his fear. “Who’s your master?”

The servant gives him an incredulous look, as if Louis should already know this information. “This is Master Hades’ home of course, and you’re in the Underworld.”

Louis pales at the information and with a single glance back out the window, things start to click into place. Harry’s never come to visit him on Olympus. The only time he’s even seen Harry on Olympus was for the Winter Solstice party. Harry always skits around his duties as a god, but has cursed gems and servants who fear him.

Not to mention the obvious—Louis goes to sleep in Harry’s mortal home and wakes up in the Underworld.

Louis clenches his jaw and pivots on his heel to address the servant. “I’d like to speak to him now, actually.”

The servant hesitates as if not expecting Louis’ answer or his tone before he bows his head. “Of course, follow me please.”

Louis releases the curtain and keeps a wide berth between himself and the servant. His mind is a whirl of questions and he can’t help but feel foolish. All his life, his mother has warned him to avoid Hades. She’s always been vocal of the gods and goddesses that she dislikes, and Hades is at the top of that list. 

He knows he can’t consume any of the food grown here, as it will tie him to the Underworld and he’ll be unable to get back home. He hopes Harry will let him go home, but he’s unsure. He wants to question everything he knows about him. Has Harry been pulling the wool over Louis’ eyes all this time? What was his endgame? There has to be a reason Harry has taken Louis to the Underworld. Surly, he doesn’t think that Louis will stay here.

As the servant leads Louis down the lavish staircase, where the dark wood and stone carries throughout, Louis doesn’t know how to act around Harry or even how Harry will act with him. Is he going to pull Louis close and kiss him while pretending he hasn’t completely changed their dynamic? Or will his kind demeanor fall away to reveal someone cruel?

The servant knocks on a large wooden door, practically hidden in the wall. 

“Come in!” Louis hears Harry call out and his heart starts to race. 

The servant opens the door, but stays in the hallway, gesturing for Louis to enter. Louis can feel the strength of a godly aura radiating from the room and he’s shocked to know that the aura must be coming from Harry. Louis squares his shoulders and tries to steel himself for the version of Harry he will face.

The room is as large as the bedroom Louis woke up in and includes a large stone desk in front of a floor to ceiling window that faces the back of the home. Seated behind the desk is Harry. He’s wearing a black suit and when he moves, a subtle geometric pattern shines from the fabric. 

He’s staring down at a list, making notes in the margins and muttering to himself. Harry looks up as Louis pads closer and smiles. “Good morning, petal. How did you sleep?”

Avoidance seems to be the direction Harry is taking so it seems. “Very well. I was expecting you to still be in bed when I woke up, however.”

Harry walks around the desk and pulls Louis to his side, cupping his face and gently kissing him. “I had to get to work and you looked too peaceful to bother.”

“I also expected to still be in the mortal world and not in the Underworld.”

Harry seems unbothered by Louis’ statement and runs his fingers through Louis’ hair. 

Louis steps backs and Harry’s hand drops to his side. “Harry.”

“What’s wrong?” Harry asks, completely unaware of the panic raging inside of Louis.

“Why am I in the Underworld and not in the mortal world?”

Harry shrugs and goes back around the desk to sit and return to his list. “Something with work popped up that needed my attention and I didn’t feel like leaving you alone in my mortal house.”

Louis relaxes slightly at the news. That doesn’t seem completely unreasonable. “Does that mean you’ll take me back later today?”

Harry looks up and shakes his head. “Not today, no.”

“If not today, then when?”

“Why would you want to go back? You deserve better than to be trapped on Olympus and under your mother’s thumb,” Harry explains. 

Louis takes a deep breath to center himself and not allow himself to raise his voice out of frustration. “And yet I’m trapped here? How is that fair? I need to go home at some point, Harry. I have responsibilities on Olympus, and Mother will miss me.”

“Your mother who constantly puts you down and ignores your obvious talents. Who chooses the opinion of someone else rather than her own son. Why would you want to continue living with her?” 

“She’s still my mother. Besides, I have all my things at home! My own clothes, my plants, the poppies. I need to get them,” Louis pleads, feeling panic starting to rise through his body as it becomes clearer that he’s not going to be going home anytime soon.

“I’ll send Thanatos to retrieve your things. They’ll be here before the day ends. I already have a greenhouse set up in the backyard for your plants and anything else you could want.”

“A greenhouse?”

Harry nods and twists in his chair to face the back window. “Consider it a blank slate you can design to be a sanctuary just for you.”

Louis walks around the desk to see what Harry’s talking about. The view of the back of the house is nothing spectacular as there is little to no green space. But the greenhouse is situated a short walk away and only slightly smaller than the one on Mt. Olympus. 

“Can I go with Thanatos to get my things?”

“Traveling to the Underworld is extremely draining for someone who’s not used to the feeling. You would be too exhausted to travel back to me,” Harry explains.

“Harry, I need to go home.”

Harry stands and hugs Louis, albeit awkwardly as Louis doesn’t uncross his arms. “This can be your home, Louis. You’ll be much happier with me.”

Louis wrenches himself out of Harry’s hold and steps away from the god. “I’m going back to your room. I’d like only non-Underworld food.”

Harry stares at him, his dark green eyes studying him closely. “The breakfast you were served is so. The only food that will truly tie you to the Underworld is the pomegranate, and that is something I keep hidden. I promise you will never eat it until you are ready.”

Louis feels pressure build behind his eyes before tears fall down his cheeks. He takes a shaky breath and says, “That day will not come for a long time, Hades.”

Louis sees his expression falter for just a moment, but he turns and marches out the door before the other god can say anything else.

The servant, Thanatos as Louis now recognizes him, is waiting in the hall. Louis ignores him and goes directly up the stairs and into the room he woke up in.

As the door slams behind him and he’s truly alone, he lets the tears fall freely. They escape his body in choked gasps. What has he gotten himself into? Why oh why did he have to find those poppy seeds? He should have stamped out his curiosity for the flower. Then he would have never found Harry’s mortal home and Harry would have only been an attractive figure at a party.

He could be home now, taking care of his plants and dreaming of the day Demeter would invite him to help her in the mortal world.

He wishes he had never found the portal to the mortal world.

Louis feels numb as he climbs back in bed, wishing beyond hope that he would fall asleep and wake up in his own bed. He pulls the covers over his head and ignores the wetness on his face and the grumbling in his stomach.

Waking up again, Louis instantly knows his wish of being taken back home did not come true. He’s still in the Underworld. He can clearly feel the coolness of the cave and the godly aura of Hades’ power. Hades must be able to tamper down aura and pass for a lesser god. Another layer of wool pulled over Louis’ eyes.

When he sits up, he sees the tray of breakfast food sitting there tempting him. He can’t trust what Hades said about the food. Unless Louis grows it himself, he will not eat a single bite of food given to him.

The faith he had in Harry has been broken and he feels almost ashamed to have given himself over to the god at all. In fact, his name isn’t even Harry … it’s Hades. Has the past 8 months been a complete lie? All of those days and nights spent in the library been for nothing. Was there ever any bit of truth in the words Hades spoke? What does Hades have planned for him?

What will his mother say when she finds out? It’s another wrinkle too. Demeter typically spends a few weeks in the mortal world to help ease the vegetation into its autumn slumber. She is so busy during this time that Louis is left to his own devices. His mother won’t realize he’s gone for several more weeks and who knows what will happen to Louis by then.

Louis doesn't think that Hades will ever hurt him. But he has heard a lifetime of horrible stories about the different things Hades has caused. From major tragedies to aiding Ares in bitter wars in the mortal world with high casualties. The name ‘Hades’ has been synonymous with misery and Louis doesn’t want to anger him.

He glances out the window, where a slice of the Underworld is exposed, and wonders how long he’s been asleep. Time seems odd here as he can’t look up to the sun to track the passing hours. He wonders how anything is able to grow or even how the space is illuminated. 

He also wonders what he should do now. He definitely does not want to be near Hades. He already misses the comforting presence of Harry when they were in the mortal world and the conversations they had. But he can’t get Harry and Hades confused and there is a clear difference. 

This is Hades’ domain and Louis is at his complete mercy.

He takes a peek in the mirror hanging above the fireplace and sees he’s a sight for sore eyes. His hair resembles more of a bird’s nest and his eyes are puffy from tears.

He walks across the room to where the bathroom sits beside the bed. The room is similar to the mortal home’s with only the basics inside. Louis is quick to wet his face and combs his fingers through his hair to make him look so horrid. Not like he has anyone to impress anymore, but the simple action of making himself look good might ease the ache he’s feeling.

Louis shivers as his toga offers little warmth and he searches the bedroom for a closet or a dresser that might hold more clothing. He absently wonders what happened to his own clothes he wore last night and if they’re still in the mortal world. To the right of the fireplace, Louis finds a black door that must lead to a closet.

Inside the closet are rows and rows of clothes of all different shades. While the wardrobe leans more towards darker colors, the sheer amount baffles Louis. There must be some enchantment to the room as the closet wall backs onto the hallway.

Louis skims his hand over the items as he walks further inside, feeling the different textures of the fabrics. He pauses on a soft jacket that’s a deep emerald green color. He tries not to think about how it looks like Harry’s eyes.

He slips the jacket off the hanger and pulls it on. The fabric hugs to his skin and staves off the constant chill in the air. Satisfied with his find, Louis walks out of the closet. His stomach growls again and he wishes he had some ambrosia or a few of his plants.

He’s far too hungry and weak feeling, presumably from his travel to the Underworld, to create any veggie plants, or else he would fill the entire room with them.

Despite the food being cold long ago, Louis can’t help but eye the eggs on toast that still lie on the tray. As a god, he knows he cannot die from starvation. But that doesn’t mean he enjoys feeling this way.

The godly aura that’s ever present becomes stronger and acts as a warning signal that Hades approaches. 

Sure enough, seconds later, the door to the bedroom opens and Hades steps through. His eyes bounce from Louis to the all breakfast tray and back to Louis. “You haven’t eaten,” he states.

“I told you I wasn’t going to each anything unless I made it.”

“You must be hungry though. I can tell you’re weak. I don’t think you would be able to grow a sprout, let alone cook a meal right now.” Concern covers his voice and he has a pinched look on his face as if doesn’t understand why Louis won’t eat.

Louis could almost scoff. Clearly, this is Hades’ first kidnapping. “I’ll manage until Thanatos returns with my things.” He sits on the edge of the bed and digs his fingers into the sheets. “I still do not condone something other than myself touching my stuff. It feels like an invasion of privacy, which is honestly the least of my problems, it seems.”

Hades sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. “Your frustration could be so easily solved if you just ate something, please.” He picks up an apple off the tray and walks over to hold it up for Louis. “Please, my love. I hate seeing you weak like this.”

Louis doesn’t move and glares at Hades. “My frustration,” he bites out softly. “Can be solved by allowing me to go home.” He reaches up and encircles Hades’ wrist. “This is no way to show love to someone. Surely, you must know that.” He looks up and pleads with his eyes, hoping that this odd behavior will stop and reason will come back to the god.

“All I know is the man I love is refusing to eat and I will fix that however I can.”

Louis is suddenly overwhelmed as Hades’ amps up his godly aura. The more powerful the god, the easier they can control the lesser ones. If Louis was of rational mind right now, he would be furious. As he’s not, he reaches forward and takes a hold of the apple Hades offers. He maintains eye contact with the god until the apple is stripped to the core. 

Hades looks pleased when Louis is done, almost triumphant, and when he pulls back his aura, Louis is hot with rage.

Disgusted with the god in front of him and for what he made Louis do, he throws the core at Hades and watches as it bounces off his pristine suit. “How dare you,” Louis says sternly. He slides off the bed and squares his shoulders. “I am not a puppet for you to control. I am a god. You can’t force me to do something I don’t want to do just because you think it’s in my best interest!”

He pivots on his heel and marches to the door. “This is no way to treat anyone, Hades. Least of all the man you claim you love.”

Louis storms out of the room and barely makes two steps before Hades is in front of him, stepping out of the shadows. A ring on his left hand glows in the dark and it doesn’t take Louis long to figure out this must be how Harry always appeared out of nowhere.

Hades can travel in the shadows.

“Louis.”

Louis ignores him and continues on his quest. He can’t stay in the building any longer. Not while Hades has easy access to him.

Hades pops up in front of him again. “Louis, please.”

Louis bypasses him and hurries down the stairs. He doesn’t know exactly where he’s going to go, but anywhere is better than here.

“Louis!” Hades appears again, only this time, he maneuvers Louis so his back is pressed against the wall by, presumably, the front door. “Please.”

Hades looks desperate. His green eyes are wide and his forehead is creased. His hold, while strong and secure, reminds Louis of how he was held the night before. Could it have only been less that 24 hours?

“I couldn’t let you become too weak. I didn’t lie to you about the food. I would never do that to you,” he pleads. He reaches up with one hand and takes the side of Louis’ face. Leaning down, he presses his forehead against Louis’. “Please believe me.”

Louis is weak. Yes, he’s weak physically from lack of a proper meal and from his unwilling transportation to the Underworld. But he is also weak for this god. The way Hades is holding him, the way he’s talking to him, lacks the edge Louis has seen him use with his servants. 

This is not the way the Hades from his mother’s stories acts.

But it doesn’t excuse the way Louis has been treated today.

He’s selfish for just a moment and leans into Harry’s embrace, soaking up this feeling, before he places a hand to Hades’ chest. “I’m going to go to the greenhouse, and you’re going to let me,” Louis whispers between them.

He feels Hades take a deep shaky breath underneath his palm. “Louis,” he starts, but Louis raises his hand and lays a finger to Hades’ lips.

“You need to learn that the way I’ve been treated today is not right. And I need to separate myself from you. To do that, I’ll stay in the greenhouse. Please have Thanatos bring my things there.”

Hades pulls back only slightly and Louis sees his green eyes start to water. “I’ll take care of my meals, but you need this. We both need this.”

Hades drops his hand from Louis’ side and Louis raises up to place a tentative kiss to the corner of Hades’ lips. Louis steps away and opens the door, leaving Hades frozen by the wall. 

Outside is much colder than the inside of the mansion and Louis wonders what the condemned souls must go through once they reach the Underworld. He tugs the green jacket tighter around his body and turns left, following a pathway that Louis hopes would lead to the backyard.

It doesn’t take him long to spot the greenhouse. From the window in Hades’ office, it looked to be around the same size as the one Louis is used to. He was sorely mistaken.

The greenhouse is two stories tall with grey painted brick as its foundation and milky glass covering the top half of the sides and onto the gabled roof.

Louis can see the shape of wooden shelves along the walls and he’s eager to step inside to see more. A white painted door curved at the top leads him inside.

He gasps as he takes in the expansiveness of the room. Rows upon rows of shelves awaiting occupants sit in an orderly fashion. To the right is a sink with a watering can and Louis can spy another watering station in the middle of the building too.

Off to the left, is a lofted area with wooden steps leading to the room. Louis instantly knows that’s where he will sleep. He’ll figure out the bathroom situation later. For now, he explores more the greenhouse and takes inventory of what Hades has already provided. 

A few hours later, as the sky begins to darken—Louis still doesn’t understand how that’s possible—the door to the greenhouse opens. Thanatos steps inside and shadowy figures follow after him with pots and pots of plants.

The figures deposit the plants haphazardly around the room before swooping back outside. Thanatos sets a few boxes down himself before he bows to Louis and leaves.

Time to unpack, Louis supposes.

It doesn’t take Louis long to organize the plants Thanatos and his shadow figures brought him. The poppies were included, much to Louis’ pleasure. But more importantly, there’s plenty of vegetable plants now in the greenhouse.

He’s long since taken off the jacket from Harry’s closet as it’s comfortably warm in the building. His biggest worry is the plants. He looks over each one to see if they were damaged in any way and he’s pleased to find that so far, other than needing some water, everything was transported safely. 

Louis sighs and uses as little energy as possible to grow a few veggies. He’s unable to properly cook them as he doesn’t want to step foot inside Hades’ home, but raw veggies will certainly do.

He feels much better after he’s eaten, but he still feels physically tired. Calling it a day, Louis goes over to his makeshift bed, a collection of blankets piled on the floor for the loft, and lies down.

Despite being tired, sleep doesn’t come. Inside Hades’ home, Louis could only hear the crackling of the fire from the fireplace. Here, Louis hears the rushing of water, the whispering of voices, and something that sounds like a dog barking.

Louis rolls over to face the wall, the only side the building that lacks windows, and tries to ignore the unfamiliarity of the place.

It’s been almost two weeks of being in the Underworld, and Louis has created a routine of waking up as the sky brightens and tending to his plants. It’s not much different than what he did on Olympus, but Louis finds that he’s getting bored rather quickly. 

There's only so many times he can water or prune the plants. He’s already filled most of one side of the greenhouse, and he is able to fully use his powers now that he’s regained his strength.

Plus, he’s not stepped out of the greenhouse since the day he arrived, and he’s itching to get out and explore. He might be confined to the Underworld, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to have a look around. Hades can’t keep him completely trapped.

Louis pulls on a sturdy pair of shoes, the green jacket of Hades—for warmth and no other reason— and puts in a few small jars in his pocket just in case. 

The chill in the air is very noticeable when he steps outside the greenhouse. The ground beneath his feet is rocky as if grass has not been grown here in quite some time. He can fix that.

He stamps his foot and green grass sprouts up beside the greenhouse and around him like a wave as it covers the backyard and seamlessly connects to the already existing pathway.

Louis smiles, pleased with the addition, and continues on the pathway. The sound of rushing water peaks his interest and he heads over to the sound. Down a small hill, Louis spots a river flowing perpendicular to the mansion. The river isn’t too wide, but would be a proper swim to get across especially since the water is quickly rushing.

As he walks closer, he feels a pull as if he has to get to the river, has to wade in it, and has to feel the water over his skin. If he wasn’t a god, he knows the enthrall would be even stronger, but thankfully, he can ignore it.

“It’s the River Styx,” a voice from behind Louis tells him.

Louis twists around, having not heard anyone near him, and sees Thanatos standing there with his hands behind his back as if he were waiting for Louis to need him. Louis eyes him carefully, wondering just how long the servant has been waiting for him to leave the greenhouse, or if he had always been watching Louis through the blurry greenhouse glass windows.

Surly, Hades’ doing.

Louis doesn’t say anything to Thanatos, trying to ignore his presence as he didn’t ask for someone to follow him around, and continues along the riverbank. 

“That’s the way to the Torture Fields,” Thanatos continues, walking just behind Louis. 

“Torture Fields?” Louis pauses and stares straight ahead, trying to imagine what the fields would look like and what kind of things happen there. “Why is such a thing here?”

Thanatos clears his throat. “It’s where the souls who haven’t earned Elysium or Asphodel go.”

“Am I meant to know what those places are?”

The servant looks as if he’s holding back a deep sigh, but explains. “Elysium is where the souls who have been good end up when their mortal life is over. Asphodel is for those who haven’t done anything horrible enough to earn the Torture fields, but have not done enough good in the world to earn Elysium. Master Hades is the one to decide where all the souls end.” Thanatos gives him a side eye. “As you can imagine, the demand is quite high and the Master is extremely busy.”

Louis hums, clearly picking up the disdain in Thanatos’ voice. “Too busy, it seems, to know that it’s not appropriate to kidnap someone,” he murmurs as he continues his walk beside the river.

Now, Thanatos sighs deeply. It’s clear the servant does not want to be following Louis around the Underworld. If he didn’t notice by now, Louis feels the same way. 

“Master Hades would like you to join him for dinner tonight,” Thanatos informs him a few minutes later.

Louis doesn’t respond. As much as he wants to see Hades, he also doesn’t want to see him. What if Hades hasn’t changed? What if he expects Louis to have forgotten the fact that he’s been taken away from his home without permission? Louis doesn’t know what to expect the next time he sees Hades.

But what if he has slipped back into his Harry persona to try to convince Louis to eat a pomegranate to attach Louis’ being to the Underworld before reverting back to Hades?

Or maybe Louis is thinking too much.

The weeks being in the greenhouse have been lonely if Louis is to be honest with himself. Despite being alone at his home when Demeter is away, Louis had tree nymphs and the comfort of being home to stave off the loneliness. Here, he’s completely isolated from all that he’s known. And it’s not like he has Hades to talk to like he’d grown used to during the spring and summer months.

In the distance, Louis sees a line of silvery figures being carted across the now wider River Styx. The souls wait in a long line and walk into a large building sat just at the edge of the river. Through the windows, Louis sees the souls be broken up into three different lines, presumably to go to the different areas that Thanatos described to him. 

The oddest thing about the building is that there is a large three headed dog overlooking the sorting of the souls. Every now and then, the dog would growl when it spots a soul trying to leave the line, particularly the souls in the line the furthest away. Louis can easily guess where that line goes.

As if sensing Louis’ presence, the three headed dog turns one of its heads and glares directly at Louis. The dog is easily the size of the greenhouse Louis currently calls home, and the piercing eyes of the creature sends a jolt of fear through Louis’ body.

“Cerberus guards the souls and makes sure that any outsiders stay away,” Thanatos adds as the dog—Cerberus—continues to stare at Louis.

“How nice,” Louis says weakly. “Are there a lot of outsiders trying to come in?”

“More than you realize,” a new voice comments to Louis’ right. 

Louis glances at the side of his eye to see Hades standing there, looking at him with inquisitive eyes. 

“Many mortal heroes try to prove their worth to the gods by sneaking into my realm to take back a loved one who previously departed or to steal a gem from the cavern I showed you earlier. Most don’t realize souls require a host to survive and all the gems are cursed until they’re joining their loved one in Asphodel.”

Louis says nothing but stares past Hades to the line of souls and he recalls a story from his mother of a man making a deal with Hades to give him back his wife who had died suddenly. As long as the man never turned around on his way back to the mortal realm, the wife would return with him. But the man did turn around to make sure his wife was behind him, and she was lost forever.

“You’ve left the greenhouse.”

“You’ve given me a babysitter.” Louis turns to glare at Hades.

Hades doesn’t falter under his stare, but does turn to look at Cerberus, who’s now turned its attention to the souls again. “The Underworld can be dangerous for someone who doesn’t know their way around. If Thanatos hadn’t been with you, you could have made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Tartarus with my father.”

Louis shudders at the thought. If Demeter hates Hades, then she absolutely loathes Kronos. While she rarely told Louis stories of the titan, Louis knows enough to be very much afraid.

“I always know where everyone is in the Underworld,” Harry says gently, sensing Louis’ fear. “I would have never allowed you to go somewhere that could hurt you.”

Louis studies the god beside him for a moment, still questioning which version of Harry he’s seeing. “Thank you,” he says softly.

Harry keeps his eyes on Louis, but tells his servant, “I’ll take over the tour from here, Thanatos. Please get started on the new recruits.”

The servant bows and disappears into a flume of grey smoke. 

"New recruits?” Louis asks.

Harry clears his throat and nods his head, pushing his hair back from his forehead. His black gemstone ring glints in the low light. “I’m always looking for help with the souls to help ease my workload. Thanatos helps as best he can, but I could always use more.”

“You take care of all of them?” Louis asks, leaning his head towards the long line of wispy souls.

“I do. It’s important that everyone ends up exactly where they deserve.”

And Louis doesn’t quite know what to say to that, so instead, he changes the topic. “How is it light down here?”

Harry chuckles, his dimple popping out on his cheek for a brief moment. “I can understand your confusion. The weather is an illusion controlled by me. If I want it to be bright for days, it will. If I want it to rain, it will.”

Louis looks around, eying the ceiling of the large cave. It looks as if someone has brought the sun into the cave, but without the heat of the sun. He can see the plus of being able to control the weather in such a way, but if the rain is anything like the ‘sun’ here, it would feel like a shadow of the real thing. “Is that why you’re in the mortal world so often?”

“Not the only reason, as of recent.”

Louis blushes as the implication and clears his throat. “What else can you show me about the Underworld?”

Harry offers his arm to Louis and he hesitantly places his hand in the crook of Harry’s arm. By the end of the day, Harry has shown Louis the three different fields for the souls to end up. Although, they don’t stay long at the torture field for obvious reason. As they’re walking back, the mansion in sight on top of the hill, potential additions to the three different fields pop into Louis’ mind.

Add poppies along the outer edges of Asphodel, hydrangeas and other brightly colored floras to Elysium with maybe some tropical greenery too, and pineapple lilies to the Torture Field. Pineapple lilies are nice to look at, but smelled something awful.

Harry told him he only puts the worst of the worst in the third field. Humans who had been completely awful to others. Men who take their physical pleasures freely, women who kill for their selfish gain, and those who cheat out the poor and needy as some examples Harry gave him.

“I find it harder and harder to let anyone into Elysium,” Harry confesses. “Humans are cruel to each other and to the gods. Everyone I’ve encountered has a deep hatred toward me simply because of my nature and my name. My own brothers banished me from entering my home except once a year because of a fight we had eons ago.”

“You’re banished?” Louis asks bewildered. This has never come up in his mother’s stories. He was always under the impression that Hades willingly took over the Underworld.

Harry nods and keeps his eyes on the mansion. “There was an argument between myself, Poseidon, and Zeus which landed me here.” He looks up and gestures to the Underworld with his free hand. “I’m not allowed on Olympus except for the Winter Solstice.”

“That’s … that’s awful,” Louis says, feeling a mixture of anger and sadness well up inside. How can Harry be banished and kept from his home? But he’s also confused. Surly, Harry realizes the similar predicament between himself and Louis. The parallels are way too similar. “Have you tried talking to them?”

“Too many centuries have passed for things to be amended properly. Besides, my brothers are quite territorial of their lands and I can understand. I wouldn’t want them to stay long in the Underworld.”

They're coming up on the greenhouse and Louis slows his pace. “And me?”

“Hmm?” Harry asks, turning and looking at Louis as he pauses right by the entrance. 

“I’m assuming since you brought me here, you don’t mind me being in the Underworld for a long time.”

Harry goes to answer, but Thanatos appears in a poof of smoke in front of the pair.

"Sorry to bother you Master, but there's an urgent message for you.”

Harry hesitates, glancing at Louis out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll be right there.”

Thanatos nods and turns to head back into the house, not even bothering to acknowledge Louis' presence.

“I see duty calls.” Louis pulls his arm out of the crook of Harry’s arm. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Harry looks back at the mansion where Thanatos is walking towards and then back to Louis. “You should join me for dinner.” When Louis gives him a look, he continues. “I promise to only cook you non-Underworld food.”

Harry’s hesitant but longing expression makes Louis cave only slightly. “I’ll bring you some veggies from my pots and help you.”

The god nods and softly smiles at him. “The kitchen is on the first floor right off of the staircase.”

Louis nods and almost goes to kiss Harry’s cheek, but catches himself. If Harry noticed Louis’ jerky movement, he doesn’t comment as he follows Thanatos back into the house.

Louis’ face feels hot as he stands in front of the greenhouse staring at Harry’s retreating back. He doesn’t know why he almost kissed Harry. His heart feels torn. He has to remind himself that he wasn’t brought to the Underworld willingly. As much as he adores and loves Harry, this isn’t the right way to treat someone you love. 

But he has to give Harry the chance to realize his mistake and make it up to him. Never mind that he’s still very much in love with Harry despite his awful decision to uproot Louis.

He does manage to move into the greenhouse, sighing when the warmth of the room seeps into his bones. Harry’s green jacket soon comes off and is laid on Louis’ makeshift bed in the loft. Louis trails his fingertips over the edges of a few of his vegetable plants, pushing his powers out to the greens to produce several veggies. 

As he walks through his newest residence, he can’t help but wonder if it’s a common occurrence for Harry to be interrupted with urgent news by his servants. It’s no wonder why Harry says he’s always busy.

Louis walks over to the corner of the greenhouse where he keeps herbs like rosemary and thyme to pick and dry for their meal. He pours a selection of each of the herbs in small jars and sets them off to the side. The vegetables are next which go into a wicker basket he’s had for ages. It so happened to be in his room which Thanatos and his hoard of shadowy whispers brought him. 

Perhaps the dinner will allow Louis to convince Harry to let him go back home. He’s well-rested and back to the godly strength he possessed prior to being brought to the Underworld. Harry can’t use his weakened state as an excuse to keep him here.

He tries not to be hopeful, but he can’t deny that a part of him has that expectation. As he’s sorting through his clothes, to find something different to wear, his eyes spies something deep blue and shiny within his things. He reaches down in the fabric and pulls out the sapphire necklace Harry had given him towards the beginning of Summer almost three months ago.

A tendril of something dark twists in his stomach as he swallows deeply. The anger he’d felt upon finding himself here worms its way back into his heart. Even though he still clearly has feelings for Harry, the things he’s down confuse and baffles him. How can Harry think that any of this is okay? He grits his teeth and tightens his grip on the offending piece of jewelry. He wishes he had thrown this thing at Harry along with the apple core to really drive home his message. 

Just as he’s about to march out of the greenhouse with it to chuck it far away from him, he pauses. The darkness inside him abruptly vanishes and in its place comes deep sadness. His breath catches and he opens his hand to look down at the blue stone.

He notices how defeated he looks in the gem’s reflection. He wishes he was strong enough to throw the stone away. To get as far away from him as he possibly could, but he can’t. Not now, at least. 

Instead, he turns around and drops it into a drawer under the loft. Out of sight and, hopefully, out of mind.

Around an hour later, Louis has redressed, throwing on one of his togas and keeping his feet bare. He tucks the wicker basket in the crook of his arm and heads out of the greenhouse. He holds back a shiver at the chill in the air. He needs to ask Harry about why it’s always so cold around him later.

Walking in the front door to the mansion, Louis hears voices. Curiosity gets the better of him and he wanders in the opposite direction of where Harry said the kitchen was in order to find out what’s going on.

The voices sound worried and chaotic the closer Louis gets. On the opposite side of the house, Louis comes across a black door that is cracked slightly open. He peeks through the opening and takes in the expansive space. 

Harry is holding court. From this angle, Louis can see the grey throne of Hades where he sits proudly with a crown of bone sitting atop his head. His hand is clenched as he hears those on his court discuss the matter at hand. 

Louis can only see a few people of the court— Thanatos, a man with shaggy brown hair and bright blue eyes who’s leaning against a wooden pole he holds in his hands, and another brown haired man looking nervously up at Hades as he explains the situation. 

“— looking for him. She’s already gone to Zeus for help and I suspect it won’t be long before she finds out he’s here.”

Louis has to hold back a gasp. They have to be talking about him! Unless there’s someone else Hades is keeping in the Underworld. 

Louis swears the man quivers under Hades’ stare before he finally speaks. “Thank you for your report, Hermes. You’re dismissed.”

The messenger god nods and vanishes from the room in a swirl of air.

“Charon,” Hades addresses the blue eyed man once the room is silent. “Keep our borders locked down. Unless someone is dead, no one is to come to the Underworld. I don’t care if my brothers come into my realm themselves, no one but the souls of the departed are allowed.”

Charon nods and swishes his wooden staff with a snap and vanishes from the room. The people of the Underworld seem to love their dramatic exits.

“Closed borders won’t stop her, Master,” Thanatos comments with a bored expression. “She’ll find out soon that he’s here, and she’ll be ruthless until she gets him back.”

“I care very little for the goddess and what she wants,” Hades shoots back and the lanterns that line the room flare bright with blue flames whose movement mimics the movement of Hades’ hair. Intense heat fills the room and Louis has to take a few steps away from the doorway to get a bit of relief. 

“Louis is _mine_ and has been from the moment I laid eyes on him. He is more mine that the goddess who claims to love him and calls herself his mother. For the goddess of the harvest, she has yet to vest her time in nurturing Louis to rise to his fullest potential. Already she’s pushed him aside and focused her attention on the Graces over her own son. No, he will blossom here under my care.”

“What will you do if she comes here?”

Hades smirks at his servant and rests his chin delicately on his hand. “Offer her my deepest sympathies, but Louis was never here. I urge you to do the same if she were to corner you during your travels.”

Thanatos chuckles and nods to his master. “Of course.” 

“And if she pursues the matter more, well.” He looks up grinning like a devil—a true expression of what he really is: Hades the god of the Underworld. “Tartarus is always an option.”

Fear strikes Louis through the chest and it makes it hard to breathe properly. He has to back away from the door and walks down the hallway back towards the kitchen. His mother must have gone back to their home early to check on him to find him gone. He knew it would happen eventually, but he doesn’t know what to do now. There has to be a way Louis can send a message to her. He has to let her know to stop looking for him. He can lie and say he left Mt. Olympus to … to do what exactly? Any excuse Louis could come up with would never placate her enough for her to stop her search.

Louis has never left Demeter’s side for long. Demeter doesn’t even know that he’s ever left Mt. Olympus before!

What seemed like a relatively simple idea—to convince Harry to let him go back home on his on accord—has now turned into something much dire. Louis becomes even more confused with the god he fell in love with. Hades or Harry? Which is the real one and which is a facade? 

Louis had never heard Harry talk or act so cruel before. The god in the throne room was a replica of the Hades Louis has grown up hearing about. But is that just an act to strike fear into those around him? Harry did mention that he felt it was better to be feared by his servants than loved.

Nevertheless, he has to get home, not only for his sake, but for his mother’s too.

He should confront Harry about the conversation he overheard during dinner tonight. Maybe he can get Harry to let him send a message to his mother that he’s okay so she won’t worry for his safety. He can’t imagine how worried she must be right now. But he has to approach the topic delicately. Maybe their conversation over dinner will help shed some light into which side is true: Hades or Harry.

The kitchen has the same set up as the one from Harry’s mortal home and Louis easily finds a knife and cutting board so he can start chopping the veggies in his basket. His mind races as he slices each piece of produce.

He’s seen first hand how fierce Demeter can be and knows there’s very little to keep her from getting what she wants. Meaning it will only be a matter of time before she figures out Louis is in the Underworld. He needs to convince Harry to let him at least send her a message. He already knows Harry won’t let him leave, especially after hearing he will deny him ever being in the Underworld. 

But perhaps he should see what Harry will say first. If he truly knows where everyone is in his realm, then Harry should know that Louis was outside of his court listening to the update. 

A throat clearing behind him causes him to jump slightly and he turns his head towards the noise.

Harry, sans crown, stands in the doorway and starts to roll his sleeves up. “Sorry for making you wait, petal.”

Louis bites his lip as he tracks Harry’s movement, feeling captivated as his slender fingers roll the sleeves of his black dress shirt up to his elbows. Glancing up, he sees Harry smirking at him, clearly knowing the thoughts running through Louis’ mind.

Ducking his head, Louis blinks down at the cutting board. He can’t get distracted by Harry tonight. He needs to stay focused on how he can get home. Step one is letting his mother know he’s alright. 

“You had an urgent task to take care of, I understand.” He looks over to Harry. “What can I do to help?”

Harry saunters over to Louis’ basket of food and takes a peek inside. “You’ve brought plenty for both of us. I’m sure we can come up with something out of this. I know you only want to eat food you’ve grown.”

He takes out a few peppers and pulls out his own knife and cutting board. The room fills with the sounds of knife cuts as the two gods work side by side.

A little while later while they’re eating their vegetable based dinner, Louis decides to take his shot. “I overheard your court conversation and I have a request.”

Harry pauses his chewing for just the briefest of moments before he recovers. “And what is your request, petal?”

“I want to send her a message.” He holds a hand up to the god to stop him from protesting. “I won’t tell her where I am, but I need to let her know that I’m at least safe. Perhaps that will tamper down her attempts to look for me and we can have more time to mend our relationship.” He stares Harry down, knowing that his offer will satisfy his need to reach out to his mother and Harry’s need to keep Louis in his realm.

He can see Harry wavering, so he reaches out and clasps Harry’s hand. “I know you want me to be here with you, and eventually, I could want that too, but right now I need to take care of my mother.”

Harry sighs deeply and squeezes his hand back. “It’s not that I don’t want you to, but the moment she knows where you are, she’ll force you to leave me. She sees you more as an item and not your own person.”

“How is the way you’re treating me any different?”

“I don’t see you as an object—”

“Don’t you?” Louis snatches his hand back, feeling frustrated all over again. This god can’t see his own shortcomings. “You’ve taken me from my home and refuse to let me go and now are keeping me from contacting my mother to simply let her know that I’m not harmed.”

“You are safe here and you’ll have much more freedom to do as you please. You don’t need your mother, Louis. You could flourish here without waiting for her approval, and I don’t understand why you don’t see it,” Harry argues, his voice rising in volume. The room gets colder as the god of the Underworld becomes more and more upset. “Everything you could possibly need is here.”

Louis' appetite is gone as his frustration peaks. “I don’t know what I can do to make you see reason,” Louis says, feeling exasperated. “You say I will have more freedom here, yet you keep me from going home to get my things and refuse to allow me to contact my mother. If anything, I’m more a prisoner here than I ever was at home. At least there I could move about freely and go to the mortal world whenever I wanted.”

“You only go to the mortal world when your mother isn’t around and you keep your journeys a secret from her,” Harry shoots back.

Louis gets up from the table and walks past Harry to get his basket. “I know there is some goodness for you, Harry. I’ve seen it while we were in the human world. But right now, you are acting like the Hades from my mother’s stories and that is not the man I fell in love with.”

He leaves then without waiting for Harry’s response. He doesn’t care to hear his rose tinted words as he knows they will have no effect on him right now. Louis is surprised when Harry doesn’t follow after him. The desperation the other god had the first time Louis stormed out of a room is no longer there, and a part of Louis hopes that he hasn’t crossed a line tonight. 

He knows Harry is not like the Hades from his mother’s stories. He has the ability to be kind and gentle. If only he could find a way out of the Underworld, he could go home. What he and Harry need is space. Space for Harry to realize this is not how to treat someone he loves.

Louis’ already been given a tour of the Underworld, but he knows that there must be a way to slip out. If there’s a portal on Mt. Olympus to slip into the human world, there must be a similar one to go from the Underworld to the human world.

He just has to find it.


	4. Chapter Three

When Louis returns to the greenhouse, he finds that the space has changed. His plants have been left untouched, but the nook underneath the loft has been enclosed. He sets his basket down and peaks inside the newly made room. A large bathtub takes up the right side of the space with a mirror and a sink directly in front of the doorway.

When he goes upstairs to the loft, a bed now lays where his mass of blankets once sat. On the pillow lies a single poppy as if he wouldn’t know who made the changes. He wonders when this happened as he knows how quick Harry can be. Did Harry do this before their meal or is this an attempt at an apology?

In any case, Louis isn’t going to let a nice set up change his mind. He needs to get home.

Later on that night, after the caverned sky has darkened and Louis has washed up from the day’s events, he lays on the bed and stares up at the glass ceiling. Mentally, he maps out the layout of the Underworld—or at least what he was shown today— trying to pinpoint where a portal might be.

“Charon will probably know,” Louis mutters to himself. His biggest problem will be Harry. Not only leaving him, as he still cares about him, but more importantly that the god will know where he is while he’s in the Underworld. Louis just has to hope that Harry will assume Louis’ wandering is for more innocent reasons.

As he goes to turn onto his side, a soft glow on lights still on inside the mansion draws his attention. He swings his legs over the side of the bed and pads his way down the loft and to the doorway. From there he can clearly see the mansion and the source of the light. Harry’s office is easy to spot with the large window and the light shows the silhouette of the god’s body as he paces back and forth in front of the glass.

It seems like even the god of the Underworld feels restless.

The next morning, Louis slips into his shoes and tucks vials into the pockets of his jacket. His goal today is to find Charon and at least talk to him. He’ll settle for small talk as he knows Charon’s loyalty will be towards Harry.

He sets off towards the widest part of the River Styx where the souls of the departed gather for their sorting. Luckily, there’s no sign of Harry or Thanatos while he walks, but it leaves Louis feeling rather lonely.

When he spies the building from the top of the hill, he veers right as to not draw attention from Cerberus. The three-headed dog makes him nervous with it’s dark eyes locking onto him yesterday.

As he reaches the shoreline of the River Styx, Louis reaches into his pocket to pull out a vial. He drops a few seeds onto the ground and closes his eyes. He feels a pull from within him as his powers cause the seeds to rapidly develop into large green vines. With a flick of his wrist, the vines tangle and braid themselves together to create a bridge that stretches across the river.

As soon as it lands on the other side, Louis hurries across his makeshift walkway. While he trusts his plants, he doesn’t trust the rushing water underneath his creation. He doesn’t know what this water will do to him if he were to fall in it, nor if it appreciates a plant being grown overtop of it. There are very few plants along the shoreline, which never bodes well.

Nevertheless, Louis does make it across safely and thanks the vines for their service before reversing his creation back into seeds. He’ll need those later but he doesn’t want anything to use his bridge to follow him.

As he walks away from the opposite shoreline, he looks over his shoulder and can just barely spot the mansion and the glass from his greenhouse glints under the fake sunlight. He wonders what sort of things Harry gets up to during the day—when he’s not kidnapping gods for his own pleasure.

Louis squares his shoulders and walks onward, following the shoreline to where he hopes he can find Charon. He believes the god must be some sort of first way stop for departed souls to encounter before they make their trek to the building where their fate is decided.

Sure enough, after sometime walking, the air in front of him turns cloudy as the white and grey wispy souls descend from a spiraling staircase. The endless line is crammed onto the stone structure that seemingly comes from nowhere.

“This is too easy,” Louis whispers to himself. The souls conglomerate together to the point where it’s difficult to distinguish one from another. With how many humans die every day, Louis would think that the line would move faster, but alas, it’s at a complete standstill.

As he moves closer, the wisps take a singular step forward. His eyes follow the line from the top of the staircase to where only a few souls board a rickety looking wooden boat. Each soul hesitates before they step off of the sturdy pier. Louis doesn’t blame them. He would pause too if he had to step onto something that looks like it could buckle under the weight of everyone.

But it’s the ferryman that catches his eye. Charon, dressed in the same brown robe and using a wooden pole to steady himself, stands on the back of the boat. The god is talking to the souls, but Louis is too far away to make out any words.

He stays there and observes as the god holds his hand out the next soul in line. The soul drops a token of sorts into Charon’s outstretched palm and steps aboard the boat. With the boat only holding five people, Charon uses his pole to push it away from the pier. The boat, obviously of godly design, maybe something of Hephaestus’ design, moves steadily across the river.

Louis watches in amazement as the boat stays in a straight line and remains steady despite not having a rower. But what surprises him even more, is another boat appears out of nowhere in the exact place as the previous one.

Then the process starts over again of Charon waiting for payment from the soul and only letting a few on board before sending the boat across the river. Louis never sees the other pier or even where a replacement boat comes from, but the process is the same.

There are some souls that don’t seem to care that they’re now in the Underworld and willingly hand over their fare as if it were another day in the human world, but a rare few try to escape once they’re on the boat. One in particular tries to throw themselves into the river—presumably to swim back—but the boat must have some force field that doesn’t allow the soul to place even one wispy tendril in the water.

The boat does, however, rock at the motion, and the movement causes a splash of water to crash upward. The water sparkles for a brief moment and an idea pops into Louis’ mind. A way to contact his mother. He grins to himself and watches the process continue for a few moments, planning out what to do.

All he needs is a golden drachma. He can take care of the rainbow. Getting one would be difficult, as it seems Charon doesn’t leave his post often or at all. More likely, his constant presence at the pier is in direct correlation to Demeter searching for Louis.

If he could steal a drachma from one of the souls, he could use it to send an Iris message to his mother. But stealing would be rather difficult. He doesn’t know how a soul would react to his thievery—he assumes they wouldn’t willingly hand it over. But Louis can be quite convincing when he wants to be.

His best bet would be towards the spiral staircase where he will hopefully be more out of sight from Charon. He has no doubt that the god would immediately alert Harry to Louis’ location should he spot the god of spring. He slips around some of the foliage that surrounds the riverbank, being careful to tread carefully over the uneven terrain.

The souls look less like white and grey wisps and take on more human features. Most are dressed in clothing that reflects presumably what they died in on the human world. A variety of pale and grey petticoats, skirts, and trousers take up most of the fashions, but he does spot a rare stately attire of someone with more wealth. Those souls, however, look older in age.

What breaks Louis’ heart the most are the wispy souls of a mother and her child who she carries in her arms. The child is still wrapped in blankets and eyes not open. Suddenly, Louis can’t continue with this plan. He can’t steal from any of these souls. What have they done to him to warrant trouble in the afterlife? They need help and guidance as they move onto the Afterlife and Charon is the first step to that assistance.

Feeling defeated, Louis turns back. As he makes his way towards the riverbank, another idea pops into his head. He digs around in his pockets and pulls out a small vial. He spreads the seeds out into a line running parallel to the line waiting for passage. Within seconds, wisteria trees sprout, their trunks thickening and branches rising high towards the cavern. Louis smiles as purple blossoms puff onto those branches.

The souls entering the Underworld could use some tranquility.

Louis crashes into Harry’s office one day. It’s been about a month since he’s last seen the god and he’s getting bored. He’s spent as much time as he could in his greenhouse making it his own and growing his plants until there’s almost too much green and not enough house.

Everyday Louis has been mapping the Underworld, trying to find the smallest of places where a portal could be located. From Hades’ comment during his tour of the Underworld about the cavern full of gems, Louis believes he knows where the portal will end in the mortal world. It doesn’t do him any good to know where mortal side of the portal, but at least it’s something.

He can also be bold enough to admit that he misses having Harry’s attention on him—having anyone’s attention on him, really. Harry has been leaving Louis to his own devices, thankfully giving Louis the space he needs. The god in question doesn’t so much as flinch as Louis throws open the wooden double doors.

Instead, he continues to sort through a stack of papers. His hair is perfectly in place, his back is straight in his ornate chair, and the room is silent.

He doesn’t say anything as Louis walks across the room and stands in front of the desk. Louis peers at the papers in front of Harry and watches as Harry takes a fountain pen and makes different marks beside what looks like a list of names in the smallest print Louis’ seen.

“How are you able to read that?” Louis asks, placing his hands on the top of the desk and leaning over to try to get a better look. The light from a candle sitting to Harry’s left distorts the words on the page as it flickers.

“Years and years of practice,” Harry says, not looking up from his work. He finishes a page and with a snap of his wrist, it disappears into a puff of smoke. Its disappearance barely makes a dent in the pile on Harry’s desk.

As Louis stands and watches, he realizes that Harry is sorting the names of souls into the three categories that make up the locations in the Underworld. He barely takes a second to look at the name before he knows where to place them. From how many souls Louis saw just the other day, it’s no wonder that the list on Harry’s desk seems never ending.

“Is this what you do all day?”

“Yes,” Harry says shortly, obviously tense.

Louis stares at him for a few more moments. Something must have happened for Harry to be so stoic towards Louis.

Or perhaps he’s seeing Louis more as his prisoner now that they’ve spent time apart and Louis has said a few times of his dislike towards the Underworld.

But Louis is bored and Harry is clearly in desperate need of a proper distraction. “You know, I’ve been here for almost two months and you’ve yet to give me a tour of your home.”

“I was under the impression that you didn’t want to be here,” Harry says bluntly, still scribbling away, his pen scratching across the pages.

“I don’t want to be here under these circumstances,” Louis clarifies. “That doesn’t mean I never would have wanted to come here if you had only asked me first.”

Harry is silent for a few moments, snapping away another few documents before Louis sighs and moves around the desk.

He sees Harry’s shoulders stiffen with every step, but he allows Louis to push his chair back far enough to move his body between Harry and the desk. Harry drops his hands to the armrests and tilts his head up to look at Louis.

Louis, in turn, cups Harry’s face gently and brushes his fingers through the front of Harry’s hair, feeling satisfied at messing up his perfectly groomed look. “C’mon, H. Show off your home to me. Show me all your dirty secrets.”

“I have to finish sorting the new souls,” Harry protests weakly.

“They’ll always be new souls to sort. Your existence should be filled with doing something you actually enjoy and have fun doing.”

“And walking through my home is fun?” Harry teases and his stiff facade begins to crack the longer Louis brushes his thumb back and forth over the apple of Harry’s cheek.

“With me, of course.”

Harry’s green eyes study him for just a moment before he turns his head to the side and nips the fleshy part of Louis’ palm. “Alright, petal. Let me finish this page and I’ll be all yours for the rest of the day.”

Louis nods and moves off to the side. His cheeks redden when Harry’s left hand stops him from moving too far away and curls around his knee. Harry scratches off the rest of the names within moments and with a small snap, another page is sent off. Harry leans forward to place his pen in it’s holder and turns to face Louis. “Where would you like to start first?”

Louis reaches down to take Harry’s hand in his and smiles softly at him. “Wherever you want to start.”

They go to the kitchen first only to get both of them a warm cup of ambrosia and nectar tea before continuing down the hall. Tall diamond shaped windows reach towards the arched ceiling.Through them Louis can see the view from the front of the house where stone houses are packed together in a mass of grey rock.

“Thanatos and other servants live in those homes,” Harry comments, following Louis’ gaze.

“They don’t live here? Surely you have enough room for them?”

Harry nods and continues down the hallway. “I do, but they want their own space and I have to respect that. Besides, it’s not like they have to travel farther away if I ever need them.”

“How long has Thanatos been with you?”

“Thanatos and I have been colleagues since the moment I took up the throne.” Harry reaches to the right and pushes open a door hidden in the stone wall. “Here is the throne room.”

They step into the room Louis had only seen a short glimpse of a few weeks ago. In the very center is a throne made up bone and dark obsidian gems. In a glass case to the right of the chair sits Harry’s crown of bone, waiting for its next use.

“It’s a bit ostentatious, isn’t it?” Louis asks, gesturing to the space and crown and throne.

Harry chuckles loud enough that it echoes in the room. “Yes, it is a bit, but I do like the flair for dramatics.”

“Never would have guessed,” Louis says sarcastically and releases Harry’s hand to bound up to the throne. Up closer, the obsidian gems connect the various white bones and skulls together to form the shape of the chair. The arms are solid obsidian and shine under the lights. Louis traces the shape of the chair with his fingertips, feeling the godly power radiating off of it.

He glances back at Harry who’s watching him with careful and dark eyes. Breaking eye contact, Louis turns around and reaches for the crown, placing it on top of his head. He throws his legs over the side of the throne and sits sideways. It’s not comfortable, if Louis is being completely honest, but he’ll ignore the pain in his back as long as Harry continues to stare him down intently.

“What do you think?”

Harry runs his tongue over the bottom of his lip and the movement hypnotizes Louis. Suddenly, he wants to feel Harry’s lips on his again. He misses the feeling of being completely surrounded by this god. The space between them seems too far, but Louis doesn’t move.

Not yet at least.

“I think it’s missing something.” Louis reaches a delicate hand up and twirls his fingers, knowing that a twist of vines and bright red poppies follow the trail he makes. The growth extends to the throne too and the color of the flora pops against the monochrome of the seat. “Looks better, doesn’t it?”

Harry stands feet away and his green eyes darken. His fists are clenched at his side, but Louis knows it’s not due to anger but frustration that he can’t touch Louis.

Not yet at least.

Louis rises from the throne and maintains eye contact while he slinks across the throne room. He still doesn’t know what he wants to do, if he’s being honest with himself. As much as he misses the intimacy with Harry—even the innocent touches—he still has to remember that Harry took him from his home.

Maybe it’s the weight of the crown on his head influencing him, but he feels powerful in this moment, like he could do anything he wishes and no one would bat an eye. He holds all the cards. He decides what the next move will be.

The Underworld might be Harry’s domain, but Louis is in control.

He stops in front of Harry and he sees the desire burning brightly in his eyes. “You never answered my question,” Louis says softly. “What do you think?” He tilts his head to the side ever so slightly and drops his eyes down to Harry’s lips for a brief second before returning to his eyes.

Louis can feel the want and need to take and touch and crash together radiate off of the god. He sways forward until he can feel the heat from Harry’s body before taking a full step backwards.

“What’s next on the tour?” He breathes out, feeling a deep satisfaction as Harry’s frustration deepens.

Harry closes his eyes and swallows. He collects himself by breathing deeply and clasping his hands behind his back. When he looks back up, there’s a glint of something dark and playful reflecting in his eyes that makes Louis question for a moment whether he should have started this game. “Right this way, petal,” he says, his tone deep, and Louis has to hold back a shiver.

He nods, being careful not to tilt his head forward too much so that the crown will stay on, and follows Harry out the side door to the room, the same one he has used to spy on the court only a few weeks ago.

Throughout the rest of the tour, Louis barely pays attention to any of the rooms. He’s too aware of the tension rising between him and Harry to take in any of the details. He vaguely remembers there being multiple bedrooms, all empty but decorated with flourishes, paintings of Mt. Olympus, and many many gems that shine from hidden spots in all the rooms.

But nothing captures his attention more than the god who keeps brushing his fingers over his sides, hands, and the small of his back at every opportune moment. When they’re climbing the stairs to another level of the mansion, Harry will let their fingers graze. As they’re walking, a hand will be placed delicately on the small of his back. When Louis leans into a room to get a better look, Harry will brush his fingers across Louis’ side.

He’s trying so hard not to let it show on his face just how much those small touches affect him, but he feels like he’s failing. Every time he looks up at Harry, the god of the Underworld’s lips are turned up into a smirk. The tone of his voice gives away his own reaction, and he is certainly pleased at how quickly he was able to turn the tables on Louis.

But Louis is wearing the crown in this situation, figuratively and literally.

As they end back at Harry’s office, looking out the window down at Louis’ greenhouse, Louis resumes his position from hours earlier. He uses the wood of the desk to grip onto and steady himself.

“What did you think of my home?” Harry asks, gripping the back of his desk chair, his rings shining in the light.

Outside, the muted light spills into the room and casts Harry’s figure in a shadow, but Louis knows the heated look he received back in the throne room is the same on Harry’s face.

“It’s very you. Dark, alluring, and in need of a little bit of color.”

Harry chuckles lowly and nods. “I suppose it does.”

“I suppose since you’ve shown me everything, I should go back to my dwelling,” Louis says but doesn’t move. He stays still, gripping the edge of the desk and waits for Harry’s next move.

The room is deathly quiet and is sparked with tension as the two gods stare the other down. The need to be closer to Harry intensifies and Louis craves the feeling of Harry’s hands on his body again. He can let himself have this one thing.

“I suppose so,” Harry replies. He’s relenting the power to Louis and making it his decision if anything goes further.

Louis considers it. He would be lying if he admitted he wouldn’t feel a sense of satisfaction at leaving the mansion and the god of the Underworld hard and wanting more. But his body tingles with the need to be held again and to be fully encompassed by his love.

He stands slowly and turns his back on Harry as he walks to the door. “Have a good rest of your evening, Harry.” He peeks over his shoulder right before he reaches out for the door handle and sends a wink towards the god. His fingers barely brush the cool metal of the handle before he’s turned around and his back is pressed to the wood.

He chuckles breathlessly and his eyes connect to Harry’s, smiling as the heat from Harry’s body warms his own. “Yes?” He asks, his eyes glancing between Harry’s eyes and his lips.

Harry swallows deeply and reaches up. “I do believe that this,” he pulls the crown of bone and poppies off of Louis’ head. “Is mine.”

Smirking darkly, Harry steps away from Louis and Louis feels his cheeks redden. Harry won’t be the one to make the first move. Instead, he walks calmly back to his desk and places his crown on the corner.

Louis stays by the doors and watches as Harry resumes his position from earlier, head down, fountain pen in hand, and giving his full attention to the list of souls in front of him.

A minute passes, or so it seems as Louis’ heart pounds in his chest and his mind races with what he should do.

No, he knows what he should do. He should turn around and leave Harry’s office. Do as he said and go back to the greenhouse. He should be trying to figure out how to leave the Underworld and get a message to his mother that he’s not hurt. He should be doing everything he can to try to get back home.

But, Harry wasn’t wrong when he said that Demeter undervalues him. He’s known it for a while, but always pushed that truth away from his mind. A part of him always resisted that truth and hoped for a better outcome year after year. He loves his mother and still wants to be able to see her, but he loves Harry too. That hasn’t changed.

Louis pushes away from the door and walks back over to Harry’s desk. Harry doesn’t glance up, but Louis sees a curl of a smile begin to form on his face. He pushes his way in between Harry and the desk again and sits sideways on Harry’s lap.

Harry brings an arm around his waist to keep him steady and places his pen down on the table. “Yes, may I help you?” He murmurs and turns his head to bring their faces close together.

Louis wraps an arm around Harry’s shoulder to bury his fingers in Harry’s soft locks. He brings his other hand up and cups Harry’s cheek, rubbing his thumb over his cheekbone. “I love you,” he says softly before leaning down and connecting their lips.

The kiss is gentle, a mere brushing of lips before Harry tilts his head and deepens it. His tongue snaking into Louis’ mouth and laying claim. His hold on Louis’ waist tightens and he brings his free hand down to rest on his upper thigh as if to make sure that Louis doesn’t move away.

Louis whines, high in his throat and sinks into Harry’s touch. He’s missed this. He’s missed having Harry’s hands on him. He brushes his fingers along the line of Harry’s jaw and allows the god to guide the kiss, to give him this amount of control.

They stay tangled together, hands moving slowly and lips only parting to allow the other to breathe. Louis truly has zero thoughts in his head other than the feeling of relief and finally … finally getting back to having this level of affection with Harry.

A woosh of cool air blows around them and Louis finds himself horizontal on a soft surface. He pulls back from the kiss to look around. He sees grey walls and blue curtains off to his right and knows exactly where he is.

“Did you really shadow-travel us to your bedroom?” Louis asks incredulously and raises an eyebrow at Harry who looks down at him with a smirk on his redden lips.

“I wanted to make sure you were comfortable,” he defends.

“How considerate of you,” he teases and pushes a few wayward curls behind Harry’s ear.

“I’m trying to be,” Harry says sincerely and Louis knows he’s not talking about their recent affection.

“I know you are,” Louis whispers. “But let’s not talk about that now. I’d rather not argue with you at the moment.”

“Reserving that for another time?”

Louis nods and mirrors Harry’s smile.

“You’ll have to make an appointment, I’m afraid. I’m a very busy god.”

“You wouldn’t make room in your busy schedule for the one you love?”

Harry hums and lowers his body until Louis is pinned down. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” he says darkly and his green eyes flicker bright blue as if drawing the power of the Underworld and reflecting it in his eyes.

The sight should scare Louis along with the statement. Louis knows how powerful Harry, and by extension Hades, can be. He’s heard a few lifetimes worth of stories about Hades’ unbridled rage. But lying underneath him, feeling the weight of his body from chest to foot, Louis feels nothing but protection and love. He could spend centuries wrapped in this god.

Louis doesn’t comment, but tilts his head up and rubs his nose against Harry’s cheek. “Can I stay here tonight?”

Harry’s smile is blinding and he tampers it down just as quickly as it appeared. “I’d love that. You can move back if you’d like, or stay with me every so often. I know the greenhouse is your safe haven.”

“It is, but I want you to hold me for tonight, if that’s okay,” Louis feels silly with his request, as if he were a child asking permission.

Harry doesn’t tease him about his response, which Louis is grateful for, and settles on the left side of the bed. “Unfortunately, I have some more work to attend to. Would you like to come with me?”

Louis sighs dramatically. “I suppose I have nothing else better to do.”

A few hours later, Harry had finished with his list and Louis, in turn, walked around Harry’s office, using his gifts to bring greenery to the dark room. Nothing extravagant, but something to bring life to the space. The irony was not lost on him.

“Oh no,” Harry mutters just as he finished.

Louis turned to look at him, worry on his face as he wondered what was wrong. Could Demeter have found him? Have the souls in Punishment rebelled? Something more sinister happening on Earth?

Before Harry could elaborate, the door to his office bursts open and Louis finds himself pinned to the ground by a paw the size of a palm leaf and with three snarling faces looking down at him.

It seems Cerberus has decided to leave his post.

Louis flinches as the dog sniffs at him with his three heads. He doesn’t know how sharp his teeth are, but he imagines it would hurt if Cerberus wanted to take a bite. Before he can do anything, the sniffing turns to licking and his face quickly becomes soaked with dog slobber.

“Um,” Louis manages to turn his head and to search for Harry.

The god of the Underworld, the man who supposedly loves him and would never let anything hurt him, is laughing. A full belied, back bending laugh.

“This isn’t funny.”

Through his laughter, Harry shakes his head. “I assure you, petal, it really is.”

He continues to make light of Louis’ current predicament and gives absolutely no help whatsoever.

Eventually, Louis gets tired of the loving attention from Cerberus and tries to gently push him off his body. Wrestling with an enthusiastic three headed dog is much more difficult than he imagined.

“He likes that you smell like me,” Harry explains. He finally whistles and Cerberus backs off.

Louis gratefully sits up and stares as Cerberus bounds over to Harry. He suddenly realizes that the Cerberus he saw through the window during his tour of the Underworld was almost as large as a two-story building. Now, he’s the size of a regular Doberman.

Sensing Louis’ confusion, Harry glances up from where he’s petting the dog. “He can change his size to whatever he wishes. Usually large and intimidating works to keep the souls in line.”

“I thought he hated me when I first saw him.”

“Cerberus is a big softie.” As if to prove his master’s point, he flips on his back and allows Harry to pet his stomach, one of his back legs shaking when Harry finds that one sweet spot. “You were new then and he didn’t know you.”

“And he does now?”

“Like I said, you smell like me and less like Mt. Olympus.”

Louis smiles and comes over to where Harry has given up and sat on the floor next to Cerberus.

The dog whines as Louis gets closer and one of his heads swings in his direction. “Is he the reason you said ‘oh no’?” Louis asks, scratching behind the ears of the closest head.

Harry chuckles. “Not quite.”

Joining in the current ruckus, the sound of patter of small feet gets louder and louder. Louis glances up and watches as small puppies with glowing red eyes come bounding in.

Smelling them, Cerberus twists his body up and pads over to them. At least ten puppies of various sizes wobble over to Cerberus and circle around him. Come try to jump on top and Louis giggles as they get frustrated.

“That's why I said ‘oh no.”

“What are they?”

“Hellhounds.”

"Hellhounds?" Louis asks, he picks one up and holds it up to his face. The puppy whines and wiggles in his hands. “He doesn’t look very hellish.”

“They guard the souls in Punishment,” Harry replies and watches adoringly as Louis cuddles one of the puppies to his chest.

Its fur is soft and other than the bright red eyes, they don’t look intimidating at all. Harry chuckles when Louis tells him this.

“They’ll grow up to be. These were just born yesterday and will need time to grow into their teeth and be trained to watch out for jumpy souls.”

Louis looks down at the puppy in his grasp, the little thing now fast asleep as Louis scratches along it’s back. The other puppies have settled in their excitement of seeing Cerberus and are now roaming around Harry’s office. “I still don’t believe you.” He looks over to the god. “But maybe about the one relieving itself by the bookcase.”

Without looking over at said puppy, Harry sighs and rakes his hand through his hair. “That’s what I meant when I said ‘oh no’. They tend to wreak havoc everywhere they go.”

A moment later, a servant bursts through the door looking a little worse for wear. “I’m so sorry, Master. They managed to get out of the gate and I had to get the mother settled.”

Harry raises a hand to stop the servant’s babble. “Not to worry, Alexander. They’re all here, but perhaps this will teach you to work on your containment spells more, hmm?”

The servant nods jerkily and starts to gather the puppies in his arms. Louis hands the one over, but the puppy whines at it’s being moved.

Louis looks over at Harry and silently asks him a question. It’s clear that Harry picks up on his look and nods before he turns to address Alexander. “This one can stay with Louis for now. He seems to be comfortable where he is.”

“Yes, master.” The servant whistles and Cerberus pops up off the floor and follows him out of the room.

“What shall you call him?” Harry asks and stands.

Louis glances down at the sleeping creature. “Chomper."

Harry sputters out a laugh at Louis’ quick answer.

"What? You said hellhounds are ferocious and I wanted to give him a name to match.” Louis defends and rubs his thumb over the top of the puppy’s head. The puppy—now Chomper— lets out a deep breath before he sneezes. A plume of fire comes from his nose and Louis gasps as his skin is burned. He immediately brings his thumb up to his mouth to help soothe the ache.

“Perhaps Chomper should go back to the nursery, before he burns you more?” Harry asks softly and walks over. He carefully removes Louis’ thumb from his mouth and the cool of his skin relieves the heat.

“You never said they could breathe fire,” Louis accuses and rises from the floor. He and Harry walk out of Harry’s office and down the hall.

“They usually don’t until close to a year. This one must have wanted to get a jump start on his siblings.” Harry takes Chomper from Louis and in an instant the sleeping puppy pops out of sight. “Do you need anything for your hand?”

Louis glances down at his slightly pinker thumb. “No, I have an aloe plant in the greenhouse that will help.” He peeks up to the other god. “Would you like to come with me?” He asks nervously. He doesn’t know why he feels nervous. In some ways, he feels like his and Harry’s relationship has started over and needs to take baby steps with everything.

“How about I start on dinner and you can get what you need for tonight,” Harry replies and schools his expression.

Louis does little to hide his disappointment, but nods and starts out of the room.

“It’s not because I don’t want to,” Harry calls out, stopping Louis before he leaves. “It’s only because I know the greenhouse is your space. I won’t ever invade it.”

Louis sighs and leans against the doorframe. “If I didn’t want you there, I wouldn’t have asked.”

Harry studies him for a moment, his dark eyes causing Louis to bite back a shiver. “Okay,” Harry says hesitantly.

Louis waits at the door and holds his hand out when Harry steps beside him. He entwines their fingers and the rings on Harry’s hand are cold as ice against Louis’ skin.“What are the others for?” He asks and nods his head down to their hands.

Harry rotates their hands until his rings shine under the light. On Harry’s middle finger is his black obsidian ring in the shape of a rectangle. Louis already knows it’s how he can travel by shadow and has never seen him without it.

A silver rose ring is on his ring finger and Louis absently wonders if he could create a flower in that shade.

“The black one is my Helm of Darkness-”

“I’m sorry, you called your ring ‘Helm of Darkness’? Sounds very Hades,” Louis teases and watches in amusement when the corner of Harry’s lips turn up.

“I am Hades. You make it sound like it’s a different person.”

“It is though. You’re much crueler as Hades than as Harry.”

_Louis is bored one night while waiting for Harry in the library. Soon after he arrived at the mortal home, Harry was called away by Thanatos for an urgent work matter._

_That was an hour ago._

_He sighs from where he’s laying on the couch. He’s already created another plant for Harry’s courtyard collection, checked on the poppies and other plants outside, and browsed through the titles on the bookshelf. He half-heartedly flips through one now while he waits for Harry to return, but the words on the page do nothing to entertain him._

_He misses Harry's touch and presence and decides that an hour is too long to be separated. Autumn will start soon and Louis will be busy helping Demeter prepare the plants for their rest during winter. They might be gods with unlimited time, but he misses him._

_Louis sets the book to the side and slips off the blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders. He pads out of the library in search for his love. The house is silent, as most of the servants have gone home for the evening. Typically, it’s only Harry and Louis in the mortal home at this time of night with Thanatos only popping in occasionally._

_The hallways are dark, but Louis has memorized the layout of the home and easily traverses the maze-like halls until he hears voices. Sharp and tense voices carry out of the open door down the hallway. It’s the slam of a hand down on a hard surface and a flash of bright heat that makes Louis pause and his heart to race. He stays still and turns his head so he can try to listen in to the conversation._

_“It’s not possible, I’m afraid,” Thanatos says cautiously. “Your brother has already made the decision to spare th—“_

_“My younger brother does not know how to keep things to himself including his appendages. He has allowed his position to consume him entirely and feels as if he can decide on matters that pertain not to him. He forgets who I am and what I can do. I want this overturned immediately. He can’t save everyone he favors.”_

_Harry’s voice sounds full of rage and Louis can feel heat coming from the room. It’s as if he’s stepped towards a raging inferno. The fire coming from Harry’s voice worries him, he doesn’t know what’s happened as he’s only heard part of the conversation, but he wants to make the rage disparate._

_“He won’t be pleased, Master.”_

_Harry chuckles darkly and Louis hears the shuffle of papers. “I care not for what my brother feels. He has won many of our battles in the past, I can have this victory.”_

_“I’ll see to it personally.”_

_“Good. Report back to me when it’s done and everyone is in Judgement.” Harry’s voice gets closer to the door and Louis quickly heads back down to the library._

_It’s not until a week later that Demeter tells him that Hades had an entire calvary sunk to the depths of the ocean during a battle. Hundreds of men dead and hundreds of widows left to mourn._

Harry swallows and looks down as if ashamed of his past actions. “And which do you prefer?” He asks nervously.

They pause as they come up to the door to the greenhouse. Louis takes in the older god, noticing the hesitation in Harry’s steps, the way he’s holding his breath for Louis’ answer, and the pleads grip on his hand. He sees not the all-powerful and deadly Hades, but a god in desperate need and want of a partner— an equal—to challenge him and bring him back down from his hot-headed moments.

Harry looks terrified.

“It’s not so much as which I prefer. Hades or Harry; they’re both you and I know you. At least, I feel as if I know you. You find ways to surprise me; sometimes good, sometimes …” Louis trails off, but the message is clear.

Harry swallows deeply and clears his throat. “I’m working on it, petal.” He brings his free hand forward to brush his fingertips along the side of Louis’ face. “You might see a singular god, but at times I feel as if I’m Janus—two sides of me; one that’s wants to keep you here where I can assure your safety and happiness, where you will always be by my side, and another where I’m afraid my actions will scare you off and I will never see you again.”

He cups Louis’ face and steps closer until Louis is backed against the greenhouse door. “Both want to keep you safe and love you until even us gods cease to exist.”

Louis stares up at Harry, his chest feeling tight and tears threaten to spill from his eyes. He’s never shied away from his emotions, he accepts them and faces them head-on. Now, he feels an overwhelming ache deep inside. As if his existence never was complete, not until this moment. The need to go back home, to escape this cavern with it’s false sun and demanding Master, dwindles as seconds pass. The longer Harry holds Louis, the more the need to be taken, fully taken, rises.

He has to push that feeling—that need— down. “I know you’re trying,” Louis whispers and squeezes Harry’s hand. “I can see it, but you must know I can keep myself safe, too.”

Harry breathes out and nods. “I know, I know you can. But I want to take care of you.” He leans his head down until their foreheads are pressed together and Louis can feel the warmth of his breath across his lips. “I think I was created to take care of you and that feeling scares me. I have been lonely for centuries, petal. I never expected you when I went to the Winter Solstice.”

“Nor I you.”

They stand there, soaking up each other’s presence and taking in the spoken confessions. There’s many things that need to happen. Louis needs to get his things from the greenhouse. He needs to contact his mother to let her know he’s unharmed. He needs to get back home. But right now, he’s content to stay wrapped in Harry and his words.

Louis shivers when Harry skims their noses together and his breath hitches as he feels Harry’s breath waft across his face. His eyes slip close and he tilts his head up. A thrill of something runs up Louis’ spine as their lips brush once … twice … before finally connecting. Harry darts his tongue out to run across the seam of Louis’ and the god of Spring lets him in.

If it weren’t for the firmness of the door at his back and the pressure of Harry’s body against his, Louis would be floating away as he loses himself in the kiss. Harry’s body sags against his and Louis can taste the relief on his lips. Louis grips Harry’s jacket and pulls him even tighter against his body. He wants Harry as close as possible to him.

Eventually, even that isn’t enough for him. Their lips separate with a smack and Harry’s eyes are a dark evergreen color when Louis looks up at him. “Harry,” he says breathlessly, not sure what to say or even how to ask for what he wants. A need to be closer, to never separate from this god overcomes him and the pinched expression along with the tight grip Harry has on his waist tells Louis that he’s not the only one feeling this roar of desperation.

“What do you want, petal?” Harry’s lips are swollen as he speaks and the movement of his lips mesmerizes Louis.

Instead of answering, Louis slips a hand up to pull down Harry’s shirt to expose more of his skin. He dips his head down and runs his tongue along the line of Harry’s collarbone and up to the curve of his neck.

Harry’s hand curves around to entangle his fingers in Louis’ hair and guides him up until they’re connected once more. “Don’t let me take more than you are willing to give.”

Louis nods and buries his face into the crook of Harry’s neck. “I trust you.”

Harry, in turn, takes a small step backwards until he is able to open the door to the greenhouse. He bends down and hoists Louis up, guiding his legs to wrap around his waist. Louis groans at the action, not realizing just how much he loved it, and smiles as Harry nudges the door open further with his foot.

The air in the greenhouse welcomes them in a blanket of warmth. Harry easily maneuvers them through the rows of plants and up to Louis’ loft. He gently places Louis down on the sheets and Louis’ heart starts pounding in his chest at the sight of Harry kneeling above him. The implications of what they’re about to do comes crashing down on him and he bites his bottom lip. The pain centers him and clears his head only slightly.

He needs to get home.

He wants to be with Harry.

In this moment, the want outweighs the need and he tugs on his toga to reveal the entirety of his body. He stares unabashedly up at Harry as the god copies Louis. His jacket and shirt quickly come off and Louis eagerly runs his hands over the exposed skin.

Harry shudders under his touch and slowly leans forward. His nose bumps against Louis’ as he kisses him. Their lips smacking as Louis tilts his head and slips his hand over the front of Harry’s trousers, finding him stiff. He smirks into the kiss when Harry groans as he adds just the slightest pressure.

“That all for me?”

Suddenly, the unlit candles Louis had scattered around the room flicker on, their flames bright blue in color as Harry squeezes his eyes shut. The god of the underworld buries his head in Louis’ shoulder and brings a hand to encircle Louis’ wrist. “Don’t tease me, Louis.”

Feeling mischievous, Louis does as he’s told, but rather than tease Harry, he lays back on the bed and guides Harry’s hand to where he’s hard and leaking against his stomach. “Will you tease me instead then?”

With his eyes glinting, Harry bends down and brushes their lips together as he says, “Is that what you want? For me to tease you, petal?” He tilts his head and watches as Louis’ eyes slip close as he uses Louis’ precome to guide his hand up and down his length.

Pleasure sparks up and down Louis’ body at the motion and he sighs happily. He curls a hand around Harry’s wrist, needing something to ground him.

“Does that feel good?”

Louis hums and nods, turning his head into the pillow and relaxing into the sheets. His hips twitch upwards on certain strokes. Harry pulls out of Louis’ hold and in an instant, Louis is flipped onto his stomach and Harry is gripping his hips. “What about this?” Harry asks, his breath wafting over Louis’ bum. He presses an open mouthed kiss to the base of his spine and trials his lips down, down, down.

Louis gasps as Harry spreads him open.

“Do you think this will feel good?”

Louis peers over his shoulder. “Why don’t you find out?”

Harry chuckles lowly and rubs a wet fingertip over Louis’ opening. Louis’ breath hitches at the movement and his fingers twitch on top of the sheets. “Hold yourself open for me, petal.”

Louis groans but does as he’s told.

Harry nips at the inside of Louis’ wrist before he dives in. His tongue demanding entrance into Louis’ body and a high pitched whimper escapes Louis.

Louis’ breathing picks up as Harry doesn’t hold back as he darts his tongue inside. One finger turns into two which turns into three. Louis is grateful that he doesn’t need air to survive as he’s sure he’s stopped breathing several times.

“Look at you,” Harry comments as he slowly pumps his fingers inside Louis’ hole. “You’re so responsive. You’re practically pulling me in.”

Louis nods against the sheets and whimpers out, “Yes.”

“Is that what you want? Me inside?”

“Yes, please Harry. Get inside me.”

Harry pulls his fingers out and Louis whines at the loss. He feels empty and needs something to fill him up. Without being prompted, Louis rolls over on his back and reaches for any part of Harry.

“Harry, please. Please fuck me.” He sits up and grips the front of Harry’s shirt, pulling him down and biting at his lips while tugging to get his shirt off.

Harry chuckles against his lips and easily pulls out of Louis’ hold. Before Louis can complain anymore, Harry disrobes, throwing his clothes off to the side.

Louis bites his lip as he takes in all of Harry. He knows how strong and built Harry is, as he’s been able to feel it under his shirts, but his heart stutters in his chest at the sight of him completely bare. Louis could look at him like this all night.

But he wants so much more than to look. He wants to touch and to taste and to _feel_ every part of Harry.

“Harry,” Louis breathes out and reaches out.

Harry quickly grasps Louis’ hand and covers his body with his own. Louis hums at the feeling of the Underworld god’s cooler skin on his own, but also at the feeling of completeness. Harry settles his body in-between Louis’ thighs and with his other hand, guides himself into Louis.

The two gods groan at the pressure as they join together and Louis feels overwhelmed. His breath hitches and he squeezes his legs tighter around Harry. “Oh, _oh_!” He says as Harry’s hips press into his own.

Harry’s breathing heavily against his lips and asks, “Alright?”

Louis is quick to nod his head. “Yes, yes, I feel perfect.” He tilts his head and captures Harry’s lips. “Move, my love.”

Harry slowly draws out before he snaps his hips forward, jolting Louis’ body up the bed. He finds his rhythm and Louis barely manages to do anything but throw his head back and grip tightly onto Harry’s shoulders as he surrenders himself completely to the other god.

He trusts Harry to take care of him and allows himself to let go any tribulations stuck inside his head. He dives head first into the pleasure and head first into Harry.

Louis wakes feeling pleasantly sore. Light streams down through the glass and draws his attention to the top of Harry’s shoulders. Red scratch marks stand out against Harry’s creamy skin and Louis smiles at the sight. The god is laying flat on his stomach with an arm wrapped loosely over Louis’ waist. His head is buried in Louis’ neck and Louis can feel every breath his bedmate takes.

It’s peaceful to wake up like this and Louis could easily stay here forever. He might be sore in several places and in need of a long hot bath, but he feels content. He hasn’t felt like this in a long time. It’s a welcomed relief as something settles in his chest and in his spirit— a feeling of belonging. A smile comes across his face and he has to bury it in the top of Harry’s head. The Underworld god’s hair tickles his nose and his smiles only widens when Harry shifts and his grip on Louis’ waist tightens for a brief second before Harry hums and relaxes once more.

After a few moments, Louis gets a craving for a warm cup of tea. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a tea kettle in the greenhouse and has to go to the mansion. Carefully, Louis slips out of Harry’s hold, quickly putting a pillow in his place so as to not wake the god. He pulls on his evening robe, one with lace along the collar and sleeves, along with some shoes and hurries out into the chilly air.

The house is dark when Louis opens the doors with only the light from outside filtering in. But he walks confidently down the hall and to the kitchen. As he’s filling the kettle with water, someone clears their throat behind him causing Louis to jump.

“Oh,” Louis relaxes when he sees the familiar servant. “It’s just you.”

“Louis,” Thanatos greets. “I was hoping I could talk to you without the master around. I know he wouldn’t approve.”

Louis furrows his brows in confusion. “What do you mean? Talk about what?”

Thanatos sighs. “I never approved of him taking you the way he did. He’s become more impulsive when it pertains to you and I want to apologize on his behalf for the way you ended up in the Underworld.”

“That’s kind of you to say,” Louis answers feeling a bit taken aback. He had always assumed Thanatos resented Louis for taking Harry’s focus away from the different Underworld duties.

“I was actually on my way to see Master to deliver some news, but I believe he’s preoccupied.”

Louis blushes and looks down at the two teacups he had set out on the counter. “Um, yes he is.”

Thanatos studies him for a moment before he continues. “It seems your mother hasn’t given up on trying to find you. She has even gone as far as threaten to Zeus whom she claims is an accomplice in your disappearance. She’s threatened to call off Spring altogether if you aren’t returned to her immediately.”

Louis’ heart stutters in his chest with a swirl of emotions ranging from confusion to panic to relief to disbelief. The disbelief is what shocks him the most. Demeter is so determined to have him back that she’ll stop Spring. But … ‘returned to her’? As if he were nothing more than a possession? That can’t be the correct phrasing. “What did she say exactly?” He asks.

“I’m afraid I do not know, only that she fiercely wants you back at her side.”

Louis leans back against the counter, the tea long forgotten. He bites his lip while he tries to think of something to do. If only Harry had allowed him to let his mother know that he was alright. Perhaps she wouldn’t go to such lengths to get him back on Mt. Olympus. “I need to go talk to Harry. I need to tell him he has to let me contact Mother.”

He takes a few steps towards the door, but a hand on his arm stops him. He looks over his shoulder at Thanatos.

“I might be able to help you with that,” he says hesitantly. “But we must hurry before the master finds out.”

Without hesitation, Louis nods and allows the servant to guide him out of the kitchen and up the steps to the second story. Louis hurries after him and has to pick up his robe so he doesn’t step on it.

Thanatos opens a familiar hidden door and Louis is back in Harry’s office. “Since you are not from the Underworld, we’ll have to prepare your body for the journey.” He goes over to Harry’s desk and pulls out the drawers in search of something.

“What journey?”

“Surely you know the only way to get your mother to stop searching for you is to have her see you for herself in the flesh. She won’t believe anything else.” He pulls out a small glass vial with dark leaves inside. “Here,” he says and walks back over to Louis. He pulls out one of the leaves, about as long as Louis’ palm and hands it to him.

“What is this?” Louis asks looking down at the leaf. He’s never seen anything like it before. It must originate from the Underworld.

“We can’t use the portal as Charon is guarding it closely on the Master’s orders. I’ll have to shadow travel with you myself to get you back to Olympus. You need to eat that so your body won’t get lost in the shadows.”

Louis looks incredulously at the servant. “I was always told not to eat any Underworld food. Besides, I don’t recall eating this before Harry brought me here.”

Thanatos glares at Louis and replies with a sharp tone. “The master is far more powerful than I. I cannot take you back if you don’t eat that.”

“How about I go wake Harry?” He places the leaf back onto the table. “I don’t want to eat Underworld food and if Harry can get me back to Olympus without my eating of the leaf, then that’s my best course of action.”

Before he can take one step away, dark shadows come rushing around him and grab at his arms. “I can’t let you disturb the master,” Thanatos says darkly. The irises of his eyes are white and send a strike of fear down Louis’ spine.

He struggles against the ice cold hold of the shadows, but he tries to squirm away. “And why not?”

“You know, I never expected you,” Thanatos says, completely ignoring Louis’ question. He turns his back on Louis and walks around the desk to look at over the backyard. “The master,” he mocks. “Has become soft ever since he saw you at the Winter Solstice. Did you know he turned an offer from Ares to start a war? Imagine, the god of the Underworld stopping the mass destruction and ruining a war in the mortal world. Thousands would have perished and brought here where they rightly belong. Everyone will end up in the Underworld sooner or later. I see no reason why not make it sooner.”

“But _you_ ,” he spits out and turns around. “You with your _innocence_ and _softness_ has turned a once great and fearsome god into a laughing stock of the Underworld.” He walks over to Louis, his head cocked to the side and a grin plastered on his face. He reaches forward and tightly grips Louis’ face, his fingers digging into his cheeks.

“You coming here has been the best thing for me. Hades would go to extreme lengths to find you once you’ve gone— just like your mother has.” His grip tightens and he chuckles lowly. “A war between the gods is much more satisfying than a war between mortals.” He jerks Louis’ head to the side and leans in closely to whisper, “I’ll make sure you have a front row seat to watch as Zeus sends him straight to Tartarus for all eternity.”

A spot of red against the bookcase draws Louis attention and with a flick of his wrist, the poppy plant comes soaring through the air and hits Thanatos directly in the head. The impact shocks him enough that he loses concentration on the shadows and Louis is able to push away from the servant.

Quickly, as he knows he can’t waste time, he twirls his finger in a spiral flowing upwards. The poppy rapidly grows at the base of Thanatos’ feet and curls tightly around him, binding his limbs together. The stalk of the flower thickens with each curl until Thanatos is fighting to stay upright. Louis slows the growth and smirks as he walks towards the servant.

“Would you like to try that again?”

Thanatos looks murderous, but his face is quickly engulfed by the poppies. Just for added amusement, Louis taps the spot where the servant’s mouth is and causes a single poppy to grow there.

With the shadows gone and Thanatos properly secure in his plant holding, Louis has to get to Harry. Satisfied that Thanatos is going to stay put, Louis takes a moment to collect himself. Mainly because he hasn’t used his powers that intensely all at once since coming down to the Underworld and it tires him out for a few minutes.

Once he’s feeling steadier on his feet, he goes down the stairs to get back to the greenhouse.

The god is still sleeping, taking up the entire bed, and Louis rolls his eyes. “What a useless god,” he mutters and reaches over to shake him awake.

Harry groans as he stretches and turns his head to face Louis. A soft smile appears and he curls a hand over Louis’ thigh. “Morning, petal. Why are you up already?”

“No reason. Just thought I’d get us a cuppa, but then your ever so loyal servant Thanatos wanted to send us both to Tartarus so he could take over the Underworld. Something about wanting to start a war between the gods.”

The candles around Louis’ room burn bright with blue flames and the air around Harry turns ice cold. “What did you say?”

Glancing up, Louis sees Harry’s eyes have turned the darkest of greens—a mirror opposite of Thanatos’. “Don’t worry, my love,” Louis bends down and presses their lips together, feeling Hades slowly relax underneath him. “Your servant is now a poppy bush in your office.”

Hades sits up and pulls Louis in his lap. In a blink of an eye, Louis’ back in Hades’ office sitting on a very naked Hades.

Looking over Hades’ shoulder, he sees that Thanatos the poppy bush has fallen over in an obvious attempt at escaping the plant. Louis scoffs to himself. As if anyone could best his plants. Goes to show just how soft Louis can be.

Hades gently lifts Louis off his lap and onto the armchair across from his desk and walks over to the wiggling plant. He bends down, giving Louis an eyeful as the god is still bare, and hums in amusement. “I must apologize, Louis.” He straightens back up and looks over his shoulder at Louis. His eyes have lightened slightly and hold a twinkle of mischievousness. “It seems I have underestimated you, I promise I won’t do that again.

Louis crosses his arms over his chest. “Many do not think of nature as being cruel. You wouldn’t be the first nor the last to think of me as completely helpless.”

Hades hums against and turns his attention back to Thanatos. “It’s a pity. He was a great god of death.”

“What will you do with him?”

Hades tilts his head in thought. “Not sure for now. But I believe Cerberus would delight in keeping him under control for a few hours. It seems we have a meeting to attend.”

Hades waves his hand and the mass of poppies pops out of sight. In the distance, a loud bark can be heard and Hades smiles at the sound. “Now, shall we go to Olympus and sort this mess out?”

Louis rises from the chair and comes over to the god. “About that. Why don’t I talk to Mother myself? The moment she sees you she’ll be convinced that I’m not thinking clearly and being controlled by you.”

Hades looks disheartened, but nods. “I understand.” He reaches down and brings Louis’ hand to his lips. “Might I ask one thing?” When Louis nods, he pleads, “Don’t leave me here for long.”

Louis takes in a shaky breath as Hades’ eyes return to their usual emerald hue. “I’ll come back as soon as I am able.” He raises up on his toes and connects their lips. Soon, Harry’s arm wraps around his waist and pulls him closer. Louis shivers under his touch and then falls forward into empty air.

He stumbles as he catches his fall. When he rights himself, he looks up at a familiar house with poppies along the wall. He’s back in the mortal world and as happy as he should be, he can’t deny that a huge part of him is in the Underworld with Harry.

He slips through the portal easily and rushes up to his mother’s house. He can hear the tree nymphs arguing again across the yard. He figures that’s the best place to start.

Willow and Birch are fussing with one another, but Willow gasps once she spots Louis.

“Oh, gods! Louis, you’re back!” She exclaims and hurries over to him. She pulls him into a tight hug and Louis finds himself trapped in her hold. “We’ve all been so worried! Demeter was so distraught to find you were gone. What happened?”

“Erm,” Louis tries to say, but Willow’s hold is so tight, he can barely breath.

“Let him go for goodness sake, Willow,” Juniper chastises as she walks over. “Birch might start getting jealous.”

At that, Willow releases Louis and takes a few steps back. He can see a slight blush to her cheeks from Juniper’s comment and he knows there must be a story. He’ll have to find out later.

“It’s a really long story, but I’m fine. Do you know where Mother is?”

“Last I saw, she was headed to Zeus’ home to talk to him. She thinks he knows where you are.”

“Oh dear,” Louis says. “Thank you Willow, Juniper.”

“Wait!” Juniper reaches out. “You don’t want to go see your mother looking like _that_ , do you?”

Louis looks down and actually takes in what he’s wearing. His feet are bare and his evening robe is hanging loosely off of his frame. “I suppose not. Um, thank you.

He hurries into the house and up to his room. He cringes when he comes into the room, knowing that Thanatos and his shadowy friends had been in there. Louis ignores the feeling and looks inside of his closet to find something decent. There’s a few pieces of clothing left inside and he slips one on along with his familiar apron filled with small glass vials.

When he finally reaches Zeus’ mansion, Louis can hear his mother chasing a riot. He runs past several nymphs who gawk at him, no doubt having heard his mother’s cries and shouts.

“-demand you tell me where my son is! He’s been gone for three months and he could be hurt!” Demeter cries and Louis’ heart shatters at her words. “I’m warning you, Zeus. I don’t care who you are, Louis belongs to me and I will get him back.”

Louis peeks around the corner and sees a very bored look Zeus sitting on his throne looking down at Demeter. If he hadn’t just heard her, her posture would tell him that she’s clearly frustrated.

He braces himself for the worst, squares his shoulders, and steps into the room. “Hello, mother.”

Demeter whips around and gasps at the sight of him. She sobs as she runs over to him and like Willow pulls him into a tight hug. “Oh, my baby. Where have you been? Why did you leave me?”

Louis manages to free his arms so he can return her hug. As he settles into the hug, a wave of emotions comes crashing into him. He’s been wanting to be here, with his mother for so long. He fought with Harry for weeks to try to have even the smallest of interactions with his mother to let her know he was safe and unharmed and now he’s finally here. He’s back with Demeter on Olympus.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get back sooner, but I’m alright.”

Demeter pulls back far enough to look at him. Tears stain her cheeks, but she hurriedly wipes them away. “Where were you? I looked everywhere.”

And this is the moment. Louis could easily throw Harry into the flames and put all blame on him. He was enthralled by the Underworld god. He was taken against his will and was kept there despite numerous pleads to let him go.

But what causes Louis to hesitate is the same thing that made him linger in the Underworld; what made him not try as hard as he knew he could have. Louis is smart—he knows what he’s capable of— and if he also knows deep down that if he really truly wanted to leave the Underworld, wanted to find the portal back to the human world, he would have gotten back after a week of waking up in Harry’s bed.

Even more, how will his mother react?

He might as well jump head first.

“I was with Harry.”

“Who’s Harry?”

“Hades.”

A bark of laughter causes Louis to jump and he looks around Demeter to see Zeus clapping a hand over his mouth as his body shakes with laughter.

“Ignore me,” the god of thunder says. “Pretend I’m not even here.”

Demeter glares at him before turning her fiery attention back to Louis. “How?” She asks sharply and in years past, Louis would have shrunken and broken against her tone.

“We met at the Winter Solstice and I fell in love.”

Demeter scoffs and runs her hand down Louis’ cheek. “Oh, darling. My darling son. Hades is incapable of loving anything. I thought I had taught you better.” She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Let’s go home, it seems you need a few more lessons.” She turns to face Zeus and addresses him. “Thank you for your help. I shall talk to you later about Spring.”

She goes to pull Louis out of the room, but Louis yanks his arm out of her hold. “Mother, Harry is nothing like what you’ve told me over the years. He’s kind and passionate and very much capable of loving.”

“Louis,” Demeter sighs. “I promise you, you don’t know how he is. He’s obviously filled your head with nonsense.”

“And you know him?” Louis shouts. “Mother, I’ve spent most of the year with him. I know him, much better than you.”

Demeter studies him closely. “You’ve eaten Underworld food, haven’t you. Just what is Hades planning? He must be planning something against the gods since he targeted you.”

“Mother! Just stop!” Louis stomps his foot and the marble cracks, a line forms between him and Demeter. Coming up from the crack, vines with bright red black-eyed Susan buds sprouts and slowly curls over the floor. “Why won’t you listen to me? You've never _listen_. I’ve tried for decades to convince you that I’m my own person. With thoughts and ideas that are worthy of your attention for longer than just to be overlooked.

“I love you, Mother. I love how close we are and you’ve taught me so much. But I am my own person and I deserve more. I know Harry. I know who he is and yes, he’s the god of the Underworld and when he’s Hades, he can be cruel, but it’s never to someone unworthy of his cruelty. He has never been cruel to me. You have a misconception of him. I’m in love with him and I want to live in the Underworld with him.”

He shocks even himself with his last statement, but it rings true as the silence fills the room. Walking back into his home on Olympus, he never felt the sense of being _home_. It felt cozy and comfortable like a long lost friend, but he felt as if he had outgrown the space during his time in the Underworld.

And leaving Harry? Being away from him, despite many days where he didn’t see the god even while he was in the Underworld, was difficult. Already, Louis wanted to go back to Harry’s office and bother the god; to demand his attention.

“I’m going to live in the Underworld with Harry, Mother.”

Louis tenses as he waits for his Mother to reply. The silence lengthens and only makes Louis fidget. Demeter looks furious and Louis can sense she’s about to erupt and possibly whisk him away. He can say goodbye to any sort of freedom. He’ll never be able to leave the house now.

“If I may,” Zeus interrupts despite previously stating for them to ignore him. He steps down from his throne and makes his way over to the mother-son pair. “I believe I can come up with a compromise to satisfy both of you. Louis can remain in the Underworld for the Fall and Winter months and you, Demeter, do not need his assistance. But he will come back to Olympus to help out with the arrival of Spring and any other tasks you might need him to do during the Summer.”

Louis holds his breath and watches his mother for any sort of reaction.

“And how will you assure Louis will be brought back. Who’s to say Hades won’t steal him away and keep him from coming back?”

Louis bites his lip as his mother unknowingly called out Harry’s behavior from the Fall.

“I see,” Zeus rubs his chin in thought. “How about we call my brother up to ease your mind, hmm?”

With a loud crash of lightning, Harry appears, thankfully clothed, beside his brother. If the god of the Underworld was panicked, he never showed it in his expression as he takes in the room. When his eyes meet Louis’, his stern and closed off expression cracks just slight enough for Louis to notice. His eyes soften for only a moment before he turns to his brother. “You summoned me, brother?” He almost sounds bored in his question.

“It seems our young Louis has claimed that you two are in love and he has requested to come live with you. I have suggested Louis to live in the Underworld for the Fall and Winter months and to return to Olympus to help Demeter with Spring and Summer.”

Louis blushes bright red at the blatant admission from Zeus and he looks down at his bare feet. The vines from earlier have curled around his ankles as if he’s trying to use the plants to ground himself.

“Demeter has brought up some … concerns with the arrangement,” Zeus continues, but is interrupted by Demeter.

“ _Many_ concerns actually,” Demeter says and walks up to Harry. “I don’t trust you, Hades. You bring destruction not only to Olympus but also the human world. You are Death in godly form, and it’s absurd that someone like you could possibly deserve my son.”

Harry’s jaw clenches and Louis can’t help but rush over to his side. He tucks his hand over Harry’s and squeezes slightly to let Harry know that he has Louis’ support.

“I don’t expect you to trust me, perhaps ever,” Harry starts. “But you can trust your son. I have lived a long and lonely existence.” He sends a short glare over to his brother. “Louis has brought pure sunshine to my world and has made my world brighter just by knowing him. I love him with all my heart and will for as long as I exist.”

Silence fills the room again as Demeter stares Harry down. Louis’ heart races as does his mind. Demeter is sure to refuse Zeus’ compromise. With her history of hating Hades along with her need to keep Louis close, there’s no chance tha-

“I need to be able to contact him whenever I wish,” Demeter breaks the silence and Louis grips tighter onto Harry. “He must be able to come back home whenever he wishes.”

“Of course,” Harry says quietly as if he too can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Once he has eaten Underworld food, he’s powers will adapt to the environment. I can teach him to shadow travel wherever he wishes.”

“He must never get close to Tartarus. And if you hurt him, I assure you that what happened to your father will look like child’s play compared to what I will do to you.”

Louis rubs his face at his mother’s dramatics, but he knows she was serious with her threat.

“Actually,” Zeus interrupts again. “We _were_ children when we sliced up Father and threw him into the pit.”

At the sharp glare from Demeter, Zeus raises a hand. “Apologies dear Demeter. Very nice threat. I approve.”

Harry sighs, but relaxes slightly at Louis’s side. “Of course you approve, brother. You’ve always liked your threats.”

Louis steps forward, ignoring the two brothers as they continue their bickering. “Thank you, Mother.”

Demeter’s hard expression breaks down as tears come to her eyes. “I’m sorry, darling. I never knew you had felt such things about being here before. I should have paid better attention.”

Louis hugs his mother, sinking into the maternal embrace and recalls his earlier days when this was his favorite place to be. “Just think of all the gossip you can share with the Graces now.”

Demeter chuckles at this and pulls back. She cups Louis’ face and bends down to press a kiss to his forehead. “Enough gossip to last until Spring, I’m sure.”

“Harry.”

“Yes, petal?”

“Must we really be naked for this?”

“I’m tying your godly essence to the Underworld for your entire existence. Why shouldn’t we be naked for this?”

“But is this really necessary? I’m starting to get cold.” Louis curls tighter against Harry’s chest as he straddles the god. They’re in the throne room and all Harry wears is the crown of bone. The stone beneath Louis’ knees is hard and cold. Unfortunately, Harry’s body offers little relief to the chill in the air. Louis will have to start stealing Harry’s clothes to satisfy himself.

“Well, not really, but you look gorgeous in this light. I had to insist on having you bare for this moment,” Harry confesses.

Louis smacks him lightly on the shoulder which only makes Harry giggle, his dimple popping out. Unable to resist, Louis leans in and presses their lips together. His tongue darts out and runs across the seam of Harry’s closed mouth.

“Ah, ah, ah. You’re getting ahead of yourself, my love,” Harry chastises when he pulls away.

“Then hurry up,” Louis demands.

Harry smiles for just a moment before he schools his expression and leans over. Sitting on a silver platter to the right of the throne is a single pomegranate— a fruit solely grown in the Underworld and the only thing that will tie one to the Underworld. Harry grabs one half of the fruit and holds it up between them.

“The pomegranate symbolizes fertility, beauty, and everlasting life,” Harry explains softly. “By eating a seed from the fruit, you, Louis, god of Spring, are binding yourself to me, Hades, god of the Underworld, for all eternity. You shall rule over the inhabitants of the Underworld by my side; be my confidant and my lover. I promise to you that you shall never feel alone. I promise to make the Underworld feel like home. By my side, you will never be unhappy nor feel weak.

“By eating a pomegranate seed, we will become one. Our binding of essences will be impenetrable for as long as we both shall exist. Do you accept?”

Louis nods and quietly affirms. “Yes, I do accept.”

Harry allows his face to break out into a pleased grin. He plucks a singular seed, bright red in color, and raises it to Louis’ lips. “Eat and we shall be one.”

Louis leans forward and still maintaining eye contact with Harry, he pulls the seed into his mouth with a swipe of his tongue. A sharp tartness covers his taste buds as he chews the seed before swallowing. “Did it work?”

Harry grins and wraps an arm around Louis’ waist to pull him closer. “You tell me.” He dives forwards and captures Louis’ mouth in a fierce kiss.

Louis gasps against his lips as a feeling of warmth washes over him from head to toe. Somewhere inside him, he feels a piece of Harry settles into place as if he belonged there all along. “Harry,” he breathes out and curls his fingers into the silky strands of his hair.

“You’re mine, petal. And I’m yours forever.”

Pleasure washes over him at the statement as he finally feels complete and at home within the safety and comfort of Harry’s embrace.


	5. Epilogue

One fall morning, he gets an Iris call from his mother. He’s finishing up his bath when the image of his mother suddenly pops next to him. “Mother!” Louis exclaims and covers himself. “What are you doing?”

“Hi, darling," she greets nonchalantly as if it were an everyday occurrence for a mother to call her son while he’s in the bath. “I wondered when you were coming home next.”

Louis glares at her image. “Mother, I was just there yesterday. I’ll see you in a month for the Winter Solstice. You know this.” 

“You know how I worry about you in that dark house. No sunlight, no greenery, surrounded by death.”

“We’ve talked about this, Mother. You can only complain about the Underworld once a month, you’ve met your quota.”

Demeter rolls her eyes. “As if that would stop me.”

Louis sighs and leans his head against the porcelain. “Mother.” Suddenly, he’s regretting giving Demeter permission to contact him whenever she wishes. Perhaps he could strike a bargain with Antheia to distract his mother more often. 

“Alright, I hear when I’m not wanted. Love you, darling.”

Louis glances over to his mother’s image and smiles, “Love you too, Mother.” He waves his hand through the mist and the call ends. 

His water has become cool and his fingers are starting to prune, so he steps out of the tub and drains the water. After drying off, Louis slips on a nightgown and pads out of the bathroom. 

His husband is already sitting at a small breakfast table he had set up in front of the fireplace. The room feels warm to Louis. Since he tasted the pomegranate, his body has grown used to the constant chilly air, but he still wears Harry’s jackets around the mansion because he likes how his husband stares intensely at him.

“Morning, petal,” Harry greets. He stands from his chair and kisses Louis’ cheek as he passes. “Was that your mother again?”

Louis sighs as he settles in his chair, reaching forward to pull the cloche off of his plate. “Unfortunately, it was. You know how she is after I visit.”

“Still trying to convince you to leave me?” Harry asks as he cuts into his eggs. 

“Emphasis on ‘trying’.” Louis stretches his legs under the table to run his foot up Harry’s leg. “Even after all these decades, she still thinks I can be swayed back to Mt. Olympus.”

Harry smirks over his coffee cup—a habit he picked up when he and Louis were visiting the mortal world. “Wait until the Winter Solstice when Eileithyia sees you.”

Louis smiles brightly as he places a hand on the small curve of his ever-growing stomach. Happiness blooms in his being at the action and a few small daisies pop around him. 

Harry chuckles at the newest flora decorations to their bedroom. He’ll have to add them to the vase he placed on the mantle. Spontaneous flowers were a side effect of Louis’ delicate condition, but Harry had taken the change in stride. 

Similarly, Louis is the only one who knows how to handle Harry when he is in a Hades-like rage. He would lose his temper ever so often, but all it takes is a simple hand to his husband’s arm or a kiss to his cheek calmed the god of the Underworld. 

They were an unconventional couple—one that still received odd looks during Winter Solstices— but Louis had never been happier. He learned to ignore the stares and focus on expanding his abilities. 

“What are your plans today, love?” Harry asks after adding the daisies to the vase that held a variety of flowers. 

“I need to go see Alastor. I missed him while I was away and I’m sure he’s already eaten all the apples that were grown on the tree.”

Once Louis officially moved to the Underworld, Harry had shown Louis the stables in the village. Alastor had been eager to see Louis and immediately began to search him apples. Louis had happily sprouted a large apple tree for the horse to enjoy whenever he wanted. Before Louis left for Mt. Olympus, he had created more fresh apples to grow on the tree.

“You spoil him too much.”

“He deserves it.”

Harry hums and steals a slice of apple off of Louis’ plate. “Make sure to take Chomper with you in case you feel fatigued.”

Louis holds back a sigh and nods. The hellhound had taken a shining to Louis and often in and out of the Torture Fields to see him. For the past two months, however, Chomper has acted more like a shadow every time Louis left Harry’s side for too long. 

After one particular instance where Louis almost fainted while he was on one of his walks around the Underworld, Harry had become even more protective over Louis. Louis wouldn’t dare admit that he loved the extra attention, but he’s sure his husband knows. 

“I won’t be gone long,” Louis reassures and finishes his ambrosia-infused tea. “Will you have to hold court again?”

“Thankfully, I will not.”

One downside to being married to the god of the Underworld is that Harry often talks to Ares the god of war. The two cover about any upcoming battles which typically turns into Ares trying to convince Harry to let him raise a few thousand fallen soldiers to ‘make things interesting for the pesky humans’. 

Louis always avoids those meetings and Harry has moved them from his office to the throne room. 

As the two rulers of the Underworld finish their breakfast and get ready for the day, Louis reflects on how things have changed for him. When he permanently lived on Mt. Olympus, he was simply existing. He had thought he was happy living in his mother’s shadow and waiting for the day she lets him fully take over Spring. He had no idea what laid in store for him—what was waiting for him in the Underworld; a place full of death and darkness. 

Louis enters the walk-in closet and pulls out a long sleeved shirt and trousers to replace his gown. Harry comes up behind him before he can put on the shirt and cups his hands over Louis’ stomach. Louis tilts his head to the side and Harry takes the opportunity to press kisses against his skin. 

“Are you happy, my love?” Harry whispers against his neck. His breath sent chills down Louis’ spine.

Louis leans back against Harry’s chest and nods. He turns his head and captures Harry’s lips with his own. The kiss is slow and lazy and their lips smack as they pull apart. “Immensely.”

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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